Parker’s Heritage Collection Wheat Whiskey Batch 1 & 2 Reviews

There was a time years ago when I liked the standard offering of Bernheim’s Wheat Whiskey. These days though I suppose my tastes have matured because I find it too light and ripe for my liking. That shouldn’t be surprising though because one of the primary influences of adding wheat to a mashbill is that it tends to both sweeten and soften up the final product. That additional sweet and softness has the added benefit of allowing it hold up better to bitter barrel tannins that can come with more years in the wood. Because of that I was elated when it was announced that the 2014 Parker’s Heritage Collection would be the original batch of Bernheim Wheat Whiskey aged at 13 years and bottled at cask strength. My hope was that the wheat would tone down the heat that comes with that much proof and the extra years in the wood would add some nice depth. The following is a review of both batches released in 2014 compared in a blind side by side to address any batch variation. Special thanks to /u/hispes for his assistance in locating batch 1 of this which seemed to be the harder to find of the two.

63.7% ABV (Batch 1) and 63.4% ABV (Batch 2); Aged 13 Years; ~$100

Nose: A lot of sweet candy caramel, light cinnamon, a soft woodiness, and slight furniture polish. After letting it air out for about 30 minutes the furniture polish note subsided. 
Batch Variation: None that I can tell.

Taste: A salty caramel bomb with heaps of sweetness and a lot of wood. It tastes like someone sat a bowl of sugar daddy candies by a campfire. It drinks pretty warm and leaves a hot cinnamon tingle in the finish but I think the wheat is doing a fair job of softening things up. Everything about this one is sweet and bold oak. Adding a few drops of water really opens it up even more bringing forward some dark fruity flavors like dates to the mid-palate. The addition of water also rounds out the somewhat hot finish turning it into more of a sugary cinnamon toast crunch cereal. 
Batch Variation: Minimal at best. The second sample was slightly richer at times and had some more pronounced cinnamon flavors in the nose and finish. My guess was that sample two was the first batch (63.7%) and sure enough it was. At the end of the day I would rate them the same.

Thoughts: This whiskey was everything I had hoped it would be when it was announced. If I had to be picky I would say it is a bit too hot in the finish but adding a few drops of water seems to put it in a great place. If you aren’t a fan of sweet flavors, don’t like a lot of heat, or don’t care for some woodiness then this one is not for you. If you are like me though and those things sound like a fantastic combination then this is a really good whiskey.

Rating: A-