Town Branch 6-Year Wheated Bourbon Showcases Distillery's Blending Mastery

Bottle Details

• DISTILLER: Distilled in Kentucky
• TYPE: Wheated Bourbon
• MASH BILL: 70% Corn | 22% Wheat | 8% Malted Barley
• AGE: At least 6 years
• YEAR: 2026
• PROOF: 99 (49.5% ABV)
• AVAILABILITY: Nationwide
• MSRP: $49.99
• BUY ONLINE: Town Branch Bottle Shop

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Honey suckle, raisin and even a little peach preserve and/or peach soda.

PALATE: Super approachable with light caramel, summer fruits and lightly toasted oak bringing up the rear. The steady tingle is pleasant and never threatens to numb. Let this pour roam every nook and cranny of your mouth to pick up subtle cinnamon and buttery pound cake.

FINISH: Clean, longer and warmer than expected, and just barely drying down the gullet.

Reviewer's Verdict

RATING: Bottle

WORTH THE PRICE: Totally. Great whiskey at a fair price.

WHO IT'S FOR: Any whiskey drinker, frankly, but wheat geeks will really get a kick out of it since it has more horsepower (spice, tingle, depth, complexity) than most in that category and proof range. It's also a good bourbon to pour for rye guys who typically find wheated bourbons too soft.

REVIEWER'S VERDICT: The good whiskies coming out of Town Branch Distillery are a long time coming. Founded in 2012, its first malt whiskies confused bourbon drinkers who expected bourbon from a Lexington, Ky., distillery. When bourbons soon followed ... they disappointed. Using its twin iconic copper pot stills, distillers made solid malt whiskey, but bourbon ... not so much. Critics pounced and locals didn't support it. I was one among those who thought, "I'll stick to the craft beer made next door," at its large brewery.

Fast forward a few years ago when I did a single barrel pick with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. All of us were taken aback when the barrels offered held really good liquid. The pick was led by David Gaspar, a man of many titles (head of distilling, blending and national brand manager) and of frank assessment of the company's bourbons prior to his arrival. He agreed that the liquid we'd all tried years ago didn't compare to standard market offerings and work was needed.

The solution, he said, was to have Castle & Key produce its bourbon, age it, and let Gaspar's team blend it. It was a good move, and as Gaspar worked more with the maturate, the improvements were marked. To him, those barrels formed a palate of many flavors, parts whose sum impressed.

I visited Gaspar about a year later and tasted some of the original single malt whiskey made there–not only still aging at 15 years, but in a refrigerated room. It was outstanding, and that boosted Town Branch's creds with its other whiskies, which we also tried. (I've always been a fan of its rye and plan on review it.) As we parted that day, he promised that lots of new and cool stuff was coming into the pipeline.

In May, when this bottle was released, I wanted a sample. Just like that barrel pick of years ago, I was far more impressed than expected. So many wheated bourbons clock in at 90 proof. And while the 9 extra proof doesn't get all the credit for this terrific bourbon, it does add flavor and texture that 90-proofers lack. It's got fruit and warmed honey in spades, and its pleasant tingle invigorates nicely.

Sessionable is still a strange word to use to describe high proof spirits, but this bourbon is one I could stick with all through a party, not crave another and not fear palate fatigue. Can you cocktail it? Yep. Works well in a gold rush and also reports for duty in an old fashioned. And though I prefer rye or rye bourbon in my Manhattans, I may test its mettle in that concoction soon.