Holladay Soft Red Wheat BiB

Holladay Soft Red Wheat BiB

Cost: $55 at local liquor store (South Carolina)

Age: 6 years

Proof: 100

Mash Bill: 73% corn, 15% soft red wheat, 12% malted barley

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Holladay’s Soft Red Wheat bourbon! Having finally seen it in South Carolina recently, it was a very quick decision to get a bottle to finally try it out.

Reviewed neat in a glencairn.

Appearance: An orangey amber, thin legs with a medium pace.

Nose: Caramel, a light citrus, and a strange one, but salt… I definitely get vanilla extract (you know how it smells delicious but has that slight astringentness?), and a little butterscotch.

Palate: This has a soft mouthfeel, but on the thinner side. Notes of caramelized sugar and butterscotch, a hearty amount of vanilla, a little oakiness, and a definite bundle of baking spices, predominantly allspice, cinnamon, and clove.

Finish: The mouthfeel transitions to a bit more tannic dryness in the finish. The baking spices linger into the finish, mostly cinnamon, accompanied by a dose of vanilla extract. The finish makes this feel slightly higher than 100 proof with a tingle all over the palate, but there’s only an extremely light hug.

Rating: 6.9/10

Overall: I think this might have been hyped up in my head a bit too much. I was expecting a really high value, 8.0+ rated wheated bourbon, but to me, it’s probably spot on for the value. This is a very above average wheated bourbon, encroaching on greatness. However, it’s generally pretty traditional in profile and complexity. It’s missing some depth, which I think a little more oak could help out with, and maybe can be found in the Rickhouse Proof variant of this, however, I have never seen that one where I’m at. This Bottled-in-Bond variant though is very easy drinking and showcases wonderfully that great bourbon can come out of unexpected places such as Missouri.

Behind the Bottle: I love the amount of detail that Holladay provides right on their bottle. If you checkout the second picture on this post, you’ll see the “spec sheet” that Holladay has for this specific bottle. It appears to have been aged for about 6 years and 3 to 6 months, it spent 100% of it’s life aging on floor 4 (middle floor) of rickhouse C. Additionally, when you go to Holladay’s website to learn about the Soft Red Wheat bourbon, you actually get to learn something. They have quite a bit of info about what the “soft red wheat” variety of wheat does for the bourbon and why. They also give a good bit of info about what is required for a whiskey to be a ”Real Missouri Bourbon” such as this one. Props to Holladay for taking the time to provide value throughout this entire experience.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect