Wyoming Whiskey Single Barrel ‘Nicholas Reserve’

One of the most unique private barrels of bourbon you’re gonna find anywhere comes from our friends at Wyoming Whiskey (man, do I wish I was in Kirby, Wyoming right now; the only Corona being passed around there is in a bottle of beer). Wyoming Whiskey is one of the only independent distilleries that make their own whiskey. Most small distilleries are buying bourbon from a massive distillery, finishing it in barrel, then slapping their label on it. That’s not the case at WW & it’s a really good thing too because what they do is better. 

They use their own winter wheat which gives their bourbon a completely different taste. What is a wheated bourbon you ask? Well it’s a bourbon that uses wheat instead of rye to mix with the corn in the mashbill. There are a few bourbons that come from Kentucky that use wheat in their mashbills. Perhaps you’ve heard of a few of them, Weller, Old Fitzgerald oh & Pappy Van Winkle. I love a wheated bourbon because I find them to have more depth of flavor & almost a creamy mouth feel. 

WW is different than KY in one other very particular way, the whiskey is subjected to incredible weather extremes that exist in Kirby. Keep in mind that bourbon rickhouses are not heated. The winters are much colder than Kentucky, so you don’t get the same intensity of sweet oak early stages; instead the long slow maturation means more complexity. They may not age as quickly as their KY counterparts, but Wyoming Whiskey is without a doubt in the top tier of the nation’s craft distillers. Sam Meade, the master distiller & I have become quite friendly over the last few years as this is our 3rd private barrel from them. He loves that we always use a WW as often as I can in one of our cocktails at the bar. Well, sadly there is no time soon that we will be making you one of those cocktails so I am releasing the entire barrel to the NW faithful. Do not miss out on this because finding a single barrel cask strength wheated bourbon for under $60 is a straight up steal.

Nicholas Notes: 

Mash Bill: 68% corn, 20% winter wheat, 12% malted barley

Age: 6 years

Cask Strength 113 proof

Bouquet: Hay, Orange, Clove

On the palate: Honey, burnt orange, cinnamon & light caramel

Finish: medium length with more fall spice with a slow burn that will trick you into thinking it’s a much lower proof. Have another & forget about life for a while & dream about being in Wyoming sans face mask.