Redemption Wheated Bourbon

Tried this on the recommendation of a nice gentleman at Total Wine. Redemption has long been on my “try list” and wheated bourbons are my favorite. Nose: corn and honey, a bit of ethanol. Typical bourbon smell. Appearance: orangey-auburn with thin legs First sip neat: citrus hits me right away, almost the way WhistlePig does. So does the spice, which is surprising for a wheated bourbon. It gives way to corn and honey with some baking spices on the end. After sitting for about 5 minutes, a bit of the heat has burned off. I’m getting more of a cornbread with an oaky bitterness. I’m not finding it as sweet as I usually find wheated bourbons to be. With water: Cuts the spice pretty well, brings forth some fruit and caramel, but still not a lot of sweetness that you would associate with fruit and caramel. A hint of black tea and hay. Finish: before water it’s medium length and tongue-tingling spicy. I think it may be even more spicy on the finish than while drinking. The finish after adding water is still shortish but more pleasant. This one is a little hard to rate. It’s not bad, but it’s not what I would look for in a wheated bourbon. It’s spicy like a high-rye. All in all, it’s not going to replace Weller for me. It’s leaps and bounds above Makers, though. It’s an ok middle-of-the-road bourbon. I’ve had better ones at the price point, so I’d reserve this for cocktails or for when I don’t want to drink my Weller. (Although if I’m feeling like Weller I’m really wanting something smooth and not spicy, and this doesn’t exactly fit the bill). It would benefit from a few more years of maturing.

Spicy, sweet palate with a smooth sweet finish

I don’t mind this one, but the spice upfront is a lot more than I expected for a wheated bourbon