Ragged Branch Wheated Bourbon

I'm rating both the Signature and the Wheated Bourbon together, as neither is good enough to warrant their own review. *NOSE: Young and Crafty. Dried Corn, Sawdust, Barnyard, Black Pepper. The Wheated does add some Brown Sugar to the mix. Not a pleasant combo. *NEAT: Very Sweet at the tip of the tongue, but unfortunately, it still has to pass the rest of your tongue for you to drink it. Again, lots of Youth with Dried Corn, Creamed Corn, Sawdust Bitter Oak and an an overall unpleasant Off Note of Sweet Tea that you find in the back of the refrigerator tat has started to go bad or ferment strained through a piece of Wet Cardboard. That is the aftertaste that remains. As with the Nose, the Wheated does add some brown sugar sweetness, but not near enough to offset that back of the palate aftertaste. *SPLASH: Doesn't change anything. Neither version is salvageable. *VERDICT: Picked up a 50ml of each when visiting a VA ABC while traveling. Dumped the majority of both 50mls pours down the drain and apologized to the sink for subjecting it to almost 100mls of this stuff.

Nose: Heavy corn influence, mild citrus , some mild oakiness, hint of herb (spearmint?), moss, some spice. Slight dustiness emerges with a few drops of water. Mouth: Herbal burn! This is a harsh 90 proof! Lots of alcohol. Long syrupy herbal finish. Reminds me a bit of absinthe for some reason, perhaps mild licorice notes in the herbalness.

Sample bottle size. Smells like new oak, hay, and grain. Taste is more new oak followed by an herbal tea or iced tea type flavor. The whiskey feels thin, but the herbal tea flavor still remains in my mouth well after the fact. It's drinkable, but glad I don't have a full bottle. It's not my...cup of tea, pardon the pun.

Nose: apples, bananas, alcohol Palate: light spice, caramel, and oak Finish: short and sweet I think this is smoother than their regular straight bourbon but not as flavorful. It’s not bad but it’s just not very complex.

Although delicious, the flavor while neat was strong and when made in Ol’Fashion, it was able to pierce the bitters/syrup/garnish easily. I would recommend the bottle to a palette that enjoys

Wood Dust, vanilla at the front. A bit of sweetness in the middle but it fades too quickly and just leaves you disappointed. Maker’s is far better.