Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Details
Distillery: Mile High Spirits
Type & Region: Bourbon, Colorado, USA
Alcohol: 50%
Composition: 70% corn, 20% wheat, 10% malted barley
Aged: At least 4 years
Color: 1.4/2.0 on the color scale (tawny)
Price: $50-60
From the company website:
To guarantee the utmost quality for our Bottled in Bond, the oaken barrel from which this bottle was born was guarded around the clock by our fearless owners. Like a dragon watching over its treasure, they agreed to selfless overnight shifts in the barrel room rocking chair. Armed with only a copper barrel thief and an arsenal of sternly worded insults, they defended their liquid gold against barrel pirates, hooch swindlers and the odd fast fingered band member sneaking into the rack house after hours. All that hard work finally paid off. With notes of caramel apple, vanilla, and toasted pecan, we are proud to share with you our finest spirit to date; Mile High Spirits Fireside wheated Bottled in Bond Bourbon.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon overview
Welcome to the mile high club…the bourbon one…stop being dirty. Mile High Spirits is a Denver, Colorado-based distillery that was founded in 2011, and at least as-of this review I don’t think that it’s distributed around where I live in the DC area. Even a year after I reviewed 3 of their bourbons, it’s still not available where I am. It is what it is.
Just like any other growing distillery, Mile High Spirits has a growing range of bourbons, from rye’d and wheated bourbon, small batch, single barrel, and bottled in bond, finished bourbon, and even a hazmat (70+% ABV) bourbon. I’ve sampled 3 of their bourbons already, and #4 (this one) is Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon.
I don’t know this for a fact, but I think this bottled in bond bourbon is 5 years old. The minimum requirement is 4 years, but their other bourbon releases are already 5-6 years old, so I think they did the same for this. Having 5-6 year old homemade bourbon (in general, even if this one isn’t) is a pretty good position to be in, and it’s always exciting to know that another distillery is going to have more aged stock to offer in the near future.
For background – bottled in bond is an important term in American whiskey with a lot of meaning, and was initially created as a way to guarantee a certain level of quality and safety in a time (the late 1800’s) when there was a lot of funny business.
People were tampering with it, adulterating, and generally doing other unsavory things to stretch it out to make a buck. The Bottled in Bond act put in rules to guarantee a certain level of purity and trustworthiness. Bottling it at the distillery also made a big difference.
Here’s most of what it entails
- Distilled in one season in one year (so the barrels in a blend were barreled within a few months of each other. This means that you cannot blend barrels from different years or seasons, so you don’t get blends of 4 year and 8 year bourbon)
- Same master distiller
- Bottled at 100 proof
- At least 4 years old
- Aged in a government bonded warehouse
- No additives or funny business
To be honest, I was not pleased with their single barrel wheated bourbon. It wasn’t terrible, but the potential was covered by a hot mess of heat and harshness. Nonetheless, I have an open mind and do not hold it against them, so every whiskey I try is an opportunity for something great.
Let’s find out if their second attempt at wheated bourbon is better in this Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon review.
This bottle was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon smell
I get brown sugar, berry compote (that’s a new term for me to use but that comes to mind), green apple, vanilla, roasted oak, clove, orange peel, cranberry, and cinnamon. There’s a little more clove, which I associate with wheated bourbon, but it does not have any of the wheaty gumminess or breadiness that I associate with something like Maker’s Mark anything, Old Elk, or even Weller Antique.
It reminds me a bit of Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon, but the berries feel more natural and not weirdly bright and artificial. It’s a unique smelling wheated bourbon with a little extra fruitiness and no weird wheaty gumminess
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon smells very good. The drawbacks are that the scents don’t feel that defined and there’s not much lower-end roundness and bass. The range is there and so is some expressiveness
After swirling and rest, there’s dark honey, berries, black tea, vanilla, roasted oak, clove, cinnamon, cherry, orange, apricot, and some darker nougat. There’s bright and dark fruitiness and sweetness, which brings a nice back and forth to my nose.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon suffers from more flabbiness than I’d like, but the fruitiness is already so intriguing and I sort of can’t believe that it’s there.
In a lot of ways, this smells nothing like the usual wheated bourbon and I’m a big fan of the uniqueness. A little more fullness and definition would have made a massive difference to an already fragrant and interesting bourbon.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I taste dark honey, cherry, other dark berries, honeycomb, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, orange, berry jam, and some freshly cut oak. Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon already tastes great, with interesting fruitiness and tropicalness.
If anything, this tastes more like Weller Full Proof. Odd…it smells kind of like Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon and tastes more like Weller Full Proof. I’ve never tasted anything quite like it…in a good way.
I’m very happy with the fruitiness and range. It still leaves a little bit to be desired with the fullness, roundness, and definition, but there is a lot to enjoy already. This is already one of the better bourbons that I’ve had from them
With vigorous “chewing”, I taste honey, dark berries, apricot, roasted oak, clove, cinnamon, fresh orange and orange peel, vanilla, toasted caramel, and a little bit of toasted grain. There’s still little to no other off-putting wheaty characteristics – no breadiness, grassiness, or nuttiness. It’s just…undoubtedly mature.
The flavors really come to life with more richness and pop, and it’s excellent. There’s a captivating back and forth between the sweetness, various types of fruitiness, oak, spice, and who the hell knows what’s in there.
The definition and roundness could still be a lot better though.
Leaves a fruity finish with honey berries, roasted oak, clove, orange peel, cinnamon. “Chewing” leaves an even better lasting impression with honey, berries, cherry, orange, roasted oak, clove, and cinnamon.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon offers a unique and interesting fruit forward experience that drinks nothing like any other wheated bourbon that I’ve ever had.
It honestly puts Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon to shame and is at a similar level to Weller Full Proof.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Rating
Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated bourbon is a resounding achievement and the best bourbon I’ve had from them so far. I’m not surprised that a smaller craft distillery can make great whiskey, but I am still amazed that it is comparable, and even better than what the big Kentucky distilleries make.
The fruitiness stands out, which is uncommon for bourbon that’s not so expensive. Two thumbs up for that, because it’s very difficult to do.
I’m also glad they somehow avoided the overdone earthiness and heat that I’ve experienced with some of their other bourbons, such as their single barrel wheated bourbon. The single barrel wheated bourbon was a mess to smell and taste, but thankfully this is so much improved and on a completely different (and better) level.
Now to reiterate my possibly crazy though – from memory, I think that is a close-ish Weller Full Proof alternative. While Fireside Bottled in Bond Wheated bourbon has a lower ABV, it still has the same distinct fruit-forward personality that I’ve only found in Weller Full Proof and Larceny Barrel Proof. I will compare them to be sure.
This is a bourbon you should definitely try, or even buy, if you come across it. I think you’ll also be very surprised at how great it is.
They mention that it’s “their finest spirit to date”. Oh yes it is.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.
Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
Leave a Reply