Wheel Horse Bourbon (Batch 1)

Nose- strong dusty corn prevails, subtle hint of licorice. There is some cherry notes in the background. Nose is young but playful. It isn't bad. Palate- corn pudding, vanilla dominate. It is singular and a bit one note. The mouthfeel is rather nice and buttery. I expected more mashiness, so as to this I like it. Finish- a bit smokey and longer than expected which is a good thing. I get a some bbq smoked cherrywood and then it is gone. Overall- the rye is way better as this tastes so young BUT this makes a wonderful old fashioned cocktail for relatively cheap money (tried it,loved it and might be a go to). Is it a bad bottle? NO. Is it a diamond in the rough? NO. I compare this with 2-4 year offerings of Yellowstone (their own bill, not the sourced HH) and this is in the vicinity, but is a bit behind. I would love to see this when it is 6 yrs out or even if a few bottles were placed in a small aging barrel for a few months. The pieces are there,but it is not quite all together. A great mixer, a subpar sipper. 2.75/5

Golden Honey color. Not much leg. The burn in the nose is surprisingly tame for 101°.  The nose is spicy: cinnamon, rye spice, black pepper. Some color enters the fray with orange zest, potpourri, black licorice and pumpernickel bread. The barrel wood aromas seem spiced. The flavor is lots of orange peel, bitter rind and pith. Dried citrus fruit. Pepper and cinnamon. The syrupy corn does come through, along with some old wood and some nuttiness, like pralines? Brown sugar sweetness. Finished with more yeast than I expected: I wonder if that's a product of the sour mash process. It's surprisingly smoky at the end, like spent matches or fireworks. Dark chocolate and coffee grounds. Lots more brown sugar. Pepper and clove spices. Wheel Horse is a very solid, affordable sour mash concoction. A very good balance of nutty and spicy, with some fireworks at the end. Top notch in a mixer, but like Hamburger Helper it does just fine by itself.

Nose... Apple, cereal, oats, and a definite showcase of corn and rye. Both the rye and corn breakthrough once stirred. Color.. Dark amber hue, caramel driven... Taste... Peppery(in a great way), burnt corn, butterscotch, banana bread and cinnamon. Overall... They start with a very solid mash bill, and I think they only have room for improvement. This batch in itself, to have such depth at just two years of barrels age, and non-chill filtered is particularly impressive. If they continue this pace, this bottle will sell for 75+ retail after 6 more years of aging... Very solid start for a two year...

Very buttery opening, with a tinge of spice. Cloying in a good way. Definitely wheated. Goes down smooth with a lot of butter and a short delay until you feel the heat. A good richness, not thin, without being too chewy. I want a little more subtlety, but it's pretty one dimensional. This would be a sweeter cocktail, but solo with a rock, not so bad. I've tasted better for every day (Elijah Craig, Maker's Mark), but would be welcomed by infrequent Bourbon drinkers.

I read a review of this bourbon being compared to WT101, so I picked up a bottle. It isn't bad for $35. It's younger notes come off as lively, champagne like on the tongue. It isn't syrupy like 101, but has unique flavors in It's own right. Definite barrel wood notes. Worth a try at this price range.

Brown sugar nose, Lovely peach and vanilla notes at first, with an oak spice finish. The color and the mouth feel isn’t much, but it packs a lot of flavor, especially for the price