7 Wheat Whiskeys To Try Today

Oyo Wheat Whiskey is a single cask, small-batch, artisanal whiskey that bears the original name of the Ohio River Valley. It is produced at Middle West Distillers in Columbus, Ohio from 100% Ohio red winter wheat using single-source Ohio grains. It is then barreled at high proof in white American oak before aging for a minimum of two years. It is bottled at 92 proof in hand-numbered batches.

This whiskey is named for William "Bat" Masterson, "an Old West marshal, gambler, newspaperman and boxing promoter" - someone who always looked to new trends. Wheat usually plays a supporting role in other whiskeys, but is the main attraction here. This one uses Canadian wheat and local glacier water, aged in new oak for 12 years.

Dry Fly is the brain child of Don Poffenroth and Kent Fleischmann, who set out to create whiskey that celebrates the beauty of the country surrounding Spokane, Washington, where the two go fishing. The wheat is sourced from local family farms. Following a double distillation, the wheat mash is aged in 53-gallon new American oak barrels with a #3 char for three years.

First introduced into the market in 2005, this is the first wheat whiskey released in the US. The mash bill is predominantly winter wheat with corn and malted barley taking supporting roles. Recently (Spring 2014) this whiskey has gone from having no age statement to having one of 7 years, quite the reverse of what large whiskey brands are releasing.

Sonoma County is a grain-to-glass distillery, with everything done in house, using alembic pot distillation. This wheat-focused whiskey uses a mashbill that is primarily unmalted wheat and malted rye. It is aged in used rye whiskey barrels.

This is the 8th edition of the Parker's Heritage Collection line of whiskeys; this year focuses on wheat whiskey. Using stocks from 2001, the year Bernheim Wheat Whiskey was released, this has been aged for 13 years and is bottled at cask strength (67.5% abv). This is set for a fall 2014 release.

Breuckelen is a distillery located in that other famous NYC borough, Brooklyn. The Dutch spelling of the area eventually came to be what is today after about half a dozen other changes. 77 refers to the address on 19th Street in Brooklyn where this whiskey is produced. Made from 100% New York sourced wheat and aged in new charred barrels for 280 days.