Mashbill – 76% Corn, 19% Wheat, 5% Malted Barley
Age – 46 months
Proof – 112.7
Other – Single barrel, triple pot distilled, non chill filtered, sweet mash, barrel char 2, barrel size 25 gal, yeast strand A-1.
Price Paid – $41.39 (375ml)

Color – Medium amber

Aroma – Sweet corn, wheat, vanilla, brown sugar, and a bit of smokiness.

Taste –  Barley, brown sugar, butterscotch, vanilla cream, almost a crème brûlée.

Tasted with dried cranberry – It brightened the taste to almost an effervescence, less sweetness, but lot of cinnamon.

Tasted with a pecan – A hint of chocolate, oak, brown sugar, with black pepper on the finish.

Tasted with dark chocolate – Creamy caramel, chocolate covered nut, with a sweet finish of toasted brown sugar.

Neeley’s wheated bourbon is always a favorite of ours. Perhaps it is the triple pot still approach or the way they treat the grains, but always fantastic.

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Wheated (barrel 85)

Mashbill – 76% Corn, 19% Wheat, 5% Malted Barley
Age – 52 months
Proof – 111
Other – Single barrel, triple pot distilled, non chill filtered, sweet mash, barrel char 3, barrel size 30 gal, eight-year air seasoned barrel, yeast strand A-1.
Price Paid – $51.74 (375ml)

Color – Medium amber 

Aroma – The nose is complex with caramel, fruit, baking spices, some vanilla malt, brown sugar or even a bit of molasses, a very mature nose. 

Taste –  Wheat, barley, caramel, dark fruit notes, and a really nice finish of black pepper that goes well with the sweet notes.

Tasted with dried cranberry – A hint of chocolate but there is cinnamon on the front and more of a sweet finish. Great mouth feel – feels creamy … almost buttery.

Tasted with a pecan – This muted some of the flavor and brought some spices forward; somewhat of a spicy chocolate caramel.

Tasted with dark chocolate – This brought the chocolate, like a chocolate covered caramel with sea salt on it. Maybe a little bit of cherry in the middle.

We are very pleased that we purchased several of these bottles because it was a very limited barrel treatment. As noted on the tag, the barrel was aged outdoors for EIGHT years. While the treatment of the oak barrel is quite present in the taste profile, it doesn’t dominate in a negative way. Instead, it brings out a cornucopia of flavors.

Sweet Thumped Rye – Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (barrel 754)

Mashbill – 65% Rye
Age – 28 months
Proof – 108.9
Other – Single barrel, triple pot distilled, non chill filtered, sweet mash, barrel char 3, barrel size 25 gal.
Price Paid – $42.39 (375ml)

Color – Medium to dark amber.

Aroma – Rye sweetness dominates, mint, herbal tea, a light baking spice, floral notes, very fresh, very natural, and inviting.

Taste –  Mint, rye grass, floral, tea, light spice, pleasant rye bread and white pepper finish.

Tasted with dried cranberry – Very floral with a white pepper finish, very nice.

Tasted with a pecan – Mellow and it brings it all together sweetness and it is just really good.

Tasted with dark chocolate – Chocolate, caramel, mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Neeley’s rye is outstanding. One of the most pleasant and enjoyable ryes to drink. As we were tasting, we kept wondering why we didn’t pull it off the shelf more often. Answer – we do not have a back-up bottle. On our next trip, we will remedy that!

Mashbill – Uncertain
Age – at least 4 years
Proof – 100
Other – Bottled-in-Bond
Price Paid – $106

Color – light to med amber

Aroma – Stone fruit, nuttiness, orange zest, floral notes, and light baking spices.

Taste –  Caramel, toasted brown sugar, orange zest and cinnamon on the finish.

Tasted with dried cranberry – The cranberry is bringing a fruitiness forward, more citrus, and less cinnamon.

Tasted with a pecan – Chocolate malt – very nice with the pecan.

Tasted with dark chocolate – A great creaminess, a bit less chocolate than the pecan brought but the finish is more like a warm cinnamon roll.

Hidden Barn Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Madeira Casks

Mashbill – 70% Corn, 20% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Age – at least 4 years
Proof – 100
Other – Finished in Madeira Casks
Price Paid – $103.49

Color – dark amber

Aroma – The wine really comes forward on the nose as well as a creamy vanilla and some baking spices.

Taste – Honey, brown sugar, cherry, chocolate, light undertones of the madeira cask and a light yet warm finish. Very nice taste and overall experience.

Tasted with dried cranberry –  This did nothing to enhance it and it made it oddly bitter with a stronger cinnamon on the finish.

Tasted with a pecan – This moved the focus to the spicy side and any hint of the Madeira is gone.

Tasted with dark chocolate – Much better with the dark chocolate as it added a creamy sweetness and the taste of chocolate dipped grapes with a nice warm finish.

This was our first time to taste a Hidden Barn bourbon. It was very good, and we liked it neat the best as that focused on the spirit and the finishing with the Madeira.

Mashbill – High Rye Bourbon
Age – At least 4 years
Proof – 109.9
Other – Finished in French Oak Cognac Barrels for 7 Months
Price Paid – $123.41

Color – golden

Aroma – The cognac is there and the French Oak is bringing a strong vanilla note forward. Also, sweet corn, raisins, and toasted marshmallows.

Taste –  Vanilla, vanilla cream pie with a nice pastry note, buttered raisin toast, the cognac is complementing it very well and there is also a lovely finish of baking spices, pepper, and oak.

Tasted with dried cranberry – With the cranberry, it lost the delicate notes and shifted to stronger fruits and french vanilla.

Tasted with a pecan – The pecan brought some French Oak notes forward as well as chocolate and caramel.

Tasted with dark chocolate – This is different and in a good way. Almost like chocolate covered grapes. This makes me want to have a pour of this with a dessert or instead of dessert.

Discussion and Final Notes

Cheers – and always drink responsibly!
Rebecca & Wayne

Photos by Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Sweet Mash, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Such whiskeys have all the requirements of bourbon: Made in the U.S, distilled at <= 160 proof, barreled at <= 125 proof, aged in new, charred oak containers, bottled at >= 80 proof. Straight bourbon means it is aged at least 2 years (and must have an age statement if less than 4). In addition, to be Kentucky Straight Bourbon, it has the additional requirement that it must be produced and aged at least 1 year in the state of Kentucky. For additional information on bourbon requirements, please read this post – Bourbon Whiskey.

Rye Whiskey Basic Requirements: Rye whiskey must be made from at least 51% rye. It must be distilled at 160 proof or less.  It then must be placed into a new, charred oak container at a proof of 125 or below. Straight rye whiskey is a subcategory of rye whiskey that has been aged for at least two years in new, charred oak barrels and doesn’t contain any additives. If aged less than four years, the label must include an age statement. For additional information on bourbon requirements, please read this post – Rye Whiskey.

Bottled-in-Bond: must be produced in a single distillation season by a single distillery; must mature in a U.S. bonded warehouse for a minimum of four years; and the aged spirit must be bottled at 50% ABV (100 proof). For additional information on Bottled-in-Bond requirements, please read this post – Bottled in Bond.

NOTE: The spirits in this review were purchased by us. We were not compensated by the spirit producers for this review. This is simply our opinion based on what we tasted on this day. Please drink responsibly.