🥃Review #79: Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bottled-in-Bond

🥃Review #79: Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bottled-in-Bond - March/April 2024

Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat on a bookshelf next to a glencairn glass

Hailing from Missouri, the Holladay distillery is the oldest west of the Mississippi still operating on its original site, having been founded by Ben Holladay himself in 1856. Then called the "Blue Springs Distillery", the burgeoning company stored its barrels in a nearby cave to age, a favorite spot for visitors to this day. The distillery only changed hands four times, residing with the current ownership group since 1993. Ben Holladay has become a darling of enthusiasts and those "in-the-know" due to both their quality and transparency, providing both highly detailed labeling on the side of the bottle as well as a distiller's journal with notes from the production team. This bottle of Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat is from the March/April 2024 batch (bottled across month end - one single batch), pulled entirely from floor 3 of Rickhouse C. They created this batch with the intent of allowing it to be compared to the August 2023 batch, also from a single floor of C, and provide a similar experience to doing a barrel pick at home. Kyle Merklein, the current master distiller, has been with the company since 2016, originally in their R&D division. He mentions having crafted this batch to suit a European palate as well with a more subtle and sweet, low-floor profile. Kylie also concocted an April 2024 batch from floor 3 which may be a great comparison.

holladay-soft-red-wheat-march-april-2024 diagram

You can see the specific ricks (10) used - Source: holladaybourbon.com.

🛒Sourced: $54.99 Total Wine, GA 750ml

🧪Proof: 100 proof, 50% ABV - per Bottled-in-Bond Act requirements.

🎨Color: R3 - Comforting yellow orange

🥔Mash Bill: Corn 73%, Wheat 15%, Barley 12% - The original Holladay bourbon recipe swapping the rye for wheat. 203 Barrels were dumped for the batch which went into both bonded and Rickhouse-proof offerings. Rickhouse proof was 118.4 or 59.2% ABV with a loss of 32.8% during aging. Distillation happened in fall of 2017 across 24 production days. Age is stated at 6-years old though it may be closer to 6.5 the way the dates fall. It is one of the few bourbons to meet the requirements for "Real Missouri Bourbon" under the 2019 law requiring that any whiskey labeled as Missouri bourbon must not only meet the federal standards for bourbon, but also be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled in the state, and aged in oak barrels manufactured in the state, and made with corn exclusively grown in the state (whew that's a lot).

👃Nose: Sweet wood with wheat fruit spice. I'm reminded a bit of Maker's Cask, albeit at a lower octane. A little bit of sweet corn and toffee.

😜Palate: Gobs of cherry at levels beyond that of Buffalo Trace products. Medium Mouthfeel, mild astringency. Slightly sweet and true to nose. If you were struggling to place the red fruit on the nose, you'll have no problem after taking a swig.

💦Finish: Short fading to a lingering chest warmth, a grain alcohol cool-aid jammer.

🏆 Overall: 7/10 - Great, Fruit Delicious - This is a great bottle that makes me a little worried. Usually a bottled-in-bond is one of a brand's more stable offerings, but Ben Holladay seems to be okay with curating a little bit of batch-to-batch variation. In the batteries of blinds thus far, it has handily overshadowed the E.H. Taylor Small batch on my shelf as well as a number of other bondeds. I'm intrigued to say the least and will definitely be picking up another bottle.

💵Would buy again? Yes

🙈Blind Tastings:

2/15/2026 - Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat, Old Fitzgerald 7-yr, EHT Small Batch
2/13/2026 - Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat, EHT Small Batch, Old Fitzgerald 7-yr
2/4/2026 - Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat, EHT Small Batch, ET BiB

⚖️Rating Scale:

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