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Bourbonfässer

Wheat Whiskey from the rare Bernheim Selection

and his specialties...

The Heaven Hill Distillery produces a large number of different bourbon whiskeys in its distilleries and rickhouses, so every taste is catered for. Real bourbon whiskey can only be distilled in Kentucky and some of the popular whiskeys include Evan Williams and Elijah Craig. However, one whiskey that is both an insider tip and a specialty is the Straight Wheat Whiskey Bernheim Original Selection. This wheat-based whiskey not only has a unique taste but is made to very high production techniques.

A special recipe

Heaven Hill has its own grain mills and makes two different mashes from its own ground grain mixed with corn, as each mash must contain at least 51% corn for a bourbon. This base mixture ensures the typical sweetness of the final product. As the name suggests, the sour mash used for Wheat Whiskey is made from wheat instead of rye. To start the fermenting process, the distillery traditionally relies on the same yeast that has always been used – a tried and tested method.

Distilling and Tradition

The first distillation is done in a four-storey unit coated with copper on the inside. The second distillation happens in a so-called doubler, heated copper pot stills, to deepen the flavour through the reaction between the distillate and the copper.The initial production process to make the distillate, known as “White Dog”, takes place in the Bernheim distillery, Louisville. The distillate, “White Dog”, is then brought to Bardstown for storage and ageing, where the Heaven Hill Distillery was founded in 1935. Out of tradition, the bourbon is matured in Bardstown where it all began.

Seven years of aging in barrels

There the “White Dog” is put into white oak barrels, which have been burnt with a gas flame. This type of toasting is called charring and there are four levels, numbered 1 – 4. The Bernheim Selection whiskey is put into barrels with a No. 3 charring. The longer the barrel staves are charred, the sweeter the taste and clearer the colour of the whiskey.

After being stored and aged in barrels for seven years, the wheat whiskey develops both a wonderful rich reddish-brown colour and a warm, mild sweetness. The notes of honey and vanilla are unmistakable, but they are restrained enough to allow the toffee and dark berry notes as well as a spicy sharpness to come through and melt on the tongue.

Bourbon barrels from the Bernheim Selection are therefore not only a speciality because of the Wheat Whiskey’s taste, but also due to their rarity.