Pappy Van Winkle is one of those bourbons that has become bigger than the liquid in the bottle. Plenty of people love it, plenty of people resent the hype, and plenty more have formed an opinion without ever getting near a pour.
The whiskey itself is good. That is not really the issue. The issue is getting hold of a bottle, paying anything close to MSRP, and then deciding whether to drink it, flip it, or use it as internet bait.
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As good as Van Winkle is, it doesn’t offer a value or availability factor to the consumer. The wheated whiskeys listed below, however, offer you great value, reliable tastes, and maybe even something quite experimental and exotic.
Makers Mark Private Select Casks, 50%+, £80+ /$60+
I’ve had a lot of experience with Maker’s Mark Private Select, including picking five casks for the UK market. That hands-on experience has only made me appreciate the range more, because the quality can vary in really interesting ways depending on the stave recipe.
That is the appeal of Private Select: you start with the familiar Maker’s Mark profile, but the custom finishing staves can push it in several different directions.
If you want something spicier and more powerful, you can find that. If you want something richer, softer, and almost sherry or cognac-like in flavor, you can find that too. It remains one of the most interesting single barrel-style buys in the modern bourbon market.
Just make sure you try before you buy, where possible. If a retailer has picked the cask themselves, they should ideally have it open for tasting.
Green River Wheated Bourbon, 45%, £45 / $31
This is a bottle I’ve developed a massive love for over the last year. Green River still flies a little under the radar in the UK, partly because the bigger American whiskey brands take up so much of the shelf space.
Thankfully, some excellent independent whisky bars have helped make bottles like this easier to discover.
The profile is packed with sweet milk chocolate, soft wheat, fresh oak, coconut, and lemon zest. There is also a slight salinity that works beautifully against the sweeter notes, stopping it from feeling too simple or one-dimensional.
Green River is now owned by a larger company, but it still feels like a brand with room to experiment. The cask strength release is absolutely worth trying, but the standard wheated bourbon is the real value play here.
For not a lot of money, this is an excellent bourbon. It beats plenty of more expensive bottles on both price and flavor, and it does so without needing any allocation drama around it.
Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey, 45%, £70 / $30
Bernheim is another bottle that feels slightly slept on when people talk about wheat whiskey. It is worth making the distinction here: this is not a wheated bourbon. It is a wheat whiskey, meaning wheat makes up the majority of the mash bill.
That gives it a different personality. Rather than feeling like bourbon with a softer wheat influence, Bernheim puts wheat right at the center of the experience. It was also the first widely marketed wheat whiskey in the US, which gives it a nice bit of history too.
There is still sweetness here, but it leans more towards baked goods than caramel-heavy bourbon. I get spearmint, fresh mint leaves, and even a small herbal note that reminds me of oregano. The cherry notes are excellent too, and they are not something I often find with this level of clarity outside rye whiskies or high-rye bourbons.
The palate feels like walking into a bakery: sweet cream, freshly baked buns, cherries in syrup, cinnamon sugar, and baked bananas. The finish is sweet, mellow, and lingering, with soft American oak and sticky-topped buns holding their own as the flavors come back through.
Redwood Empire Screaming Titan, 48%, £74 / $93
Redwood Empire Screaming Titan is a blend of Californian, Indiana, and Kentucky casks, all roughly around five years old. It is another release from Redwood Empire that shows just how interesting this producer can be when everything comes together.
This whiskey does have its critics, but I’ve seen it perform extremely well in blind tastings against more sought-after wheated bourbons. That says a lot. Once you take the label, reputation, and hype away, the liquid stands up very well.
Redwood Empire whiskies have always impressed me, and this one is full of sweet, earthy, and citrus-led notes. There is a lot of fresh lemon and lime running through it, almost like freshly made lemon and lime soda.
Then come the sweeter notes: vanilla, biscuits, and chocolate chip cookies. Underneath that, there is raw honey and a slightly unusual vegetal note, almost like tomato. I can’t quite pin it down, but it gives the whiskey an extra layer and keeps pulling me back to the glass.
This is a very interesting and complex wheated bourbon. It will not be for everyone, but that is part of what makes it worth trying.
Old Elk 10 Year Old Straight Wheat Whiskey, 55%, £100 / $125
Another wheat whiskey rather than a bourbon. Old Elk 10 Year Old Straight Wheat Whiskey is made with 95% red winter wheat and 5% malted barley. Yes, it is MGP stock, but that should not be treated as a criticism. Good whiskey is good whiskey, regardless of where it was distilled.
This delivers exactly the kind of big, creamy, sweet profile you would hope for from a high-quality wheat whiskey. It reminds me of sugar cookies, butterscotch, cocoa, poached pears, and sweet vanilla custard.
The finish brings cinnamon and cocoa, but the spice feels balanced rather than aggressive. At 55% ABV, there is plenty of strength, but it suits the whiskey. It gives the sweetness weight and stops it from becoming too soft.
Old Elk is a brand that does not get enough love in the wider whiskey world. I’ve tried this on several occasions, usually from samples shared by friends at festivals or brought back by people travelling, and every time it has delivered.
For anyone who wants a big wheated whiskey experience, with sweetness, texture, and a proper level of strength, this does the job beautifully.
Pappy Is Great, But It Isn’t The Only Whiskey In Town
Hype, demand, and allocation queues do not mean you have to join the chase. The last few years in whiskey have made that clearer than ever.
As consumers, we are often at the mercy of producers, distributors, retailers, and whatever bottle happens to be setting the internet on fire that week. When everyone is trying to break down the door for one rare release, sometimes the better move is to head to your favorite aisle, pick up a bottle or two you already know you’ll enjoy, and actually open them.
If someone manages to buy a unicorn bottle and drink it, good for them. That is the best outcome. But if it is just going to be flipped in a parking lot for cash, there are far better whiskeys to spend your time chasing.
Read the full article at 5 Wheat-Driven Whiskeys To Try Instead Of Chasing Pappy Van Winkle
