Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Details
Distillery: Holladay Distillery
Type & Region: Bourbon, Missouri, USA
Alcohol: 50%
Composition: 73% corn, 15% wheat, 12% barley
Aged: 6 years
Color: 1.3/2.0 on the color scale (russet, muscat)
Price: $50-60
From the company website:
The finest bourbon results from an ideal combination of climate and geology that is rare outside of Kentucky but is found in the rolling hills of Weston, Missouri at the Holladay Distillery.
It is remarkable how one ingredient in a recipe can change the entire taste profile of a spirit. Holladay Soft Red Wheat is crafted with the original Holladay recipe with one substitute: wheat for the rye. Holladay Soft Red is made in the original stillhouse, barreled in Missouri white oak barrels, aged onsite in iron-clad rickhouses, and bottled at 100 proof.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbonoverview
I don’t associate Missouri with bourbon. In my entire life, I’ve spent 3 days in Missouri, and all of it around St. Louis. But right outside Kansas City, Missouri, right on the border of Kansas (the state), lies Holladay distillery.
I recommend that you go to Holladay’s website to read more about their history, because it’s really interesting. The name and location go way back to the mid 1800’s, just as old if not older than many of the legacy Kentucky distilleries. It even survived Prohibition.
Unfortunately, it did not appear to survive the bourbon slump of the 80’s and 90’s, stopping bourbon distillation in 1985. It was a tough time, and while distilleries such as Wild Turkey and Maker’s Mark survived (but cut it close), others such as Holladay stopped and shifted their focus to other spirits…which is unfortunate.
The distillery as we know it today was revived in 2015, and they started releasing 6 year old bourbon in 2022. The 6 year old wheated bourbon was released in 2023. Now that I think about it, the bottle I have was bottled in August 2023, so it’s probably one of the earlier releases of the bourbon.
I have no idea how Holladay got so big and widely distributed so quickly. Making that much bourbon and getting distributors to sell is tough. So many others get stuck as local or regional brands at best, but somehow this Missouri distillery expanded very quickly and has a presence in Maryland, where I live.
In comparison to other wheated bourbons, Holladay’s 73% corn and 15% wheat is similar to the 70% corn and 16% wheat in Maker’s Mark. There’s no guarantee that they’ll be similar, but I still think that it’s a fun nugget of information.
Holladay provides another nugget of interesting information – a breakdown of barrel locations in each batch. This one is from Rickhouse C and 100% from floor 4 of 7. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I always appreciate the information. One last thing, this was distilled Spring 2017 and bottled August 2023.
Let’s find out what this historic and revived distillery brings to wheated bourbon in this Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon review.
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.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon smell
I smell caramel, orange peel, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, baked red apple, and a hint of nuttiness, breadiness, grassiness, and gumminess. The wheaty gumminess and grassiness, which can be overpowering in Maker’s Mark, is there, but well controlled.
It smells like what I expect a wheated bourbon to be – orangey and full of wood spices
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon smells really nice and has good expressiveness, but it also doesn’t have much definition, pop, and uniqueness. From my first few sniffs, I can say that I enjoy it but I’d never be able to pick this out from a crowd of other wheated bourbons…except for Maker’s Mark and its overdone (and occasionally unpleasant) gumminess and dryness.
After swirling and rest, I get more of the same with caramel, orange peel, roasted oak, ample cinnamon and clove, baked red apple, vanilla, and this background breadiness. It’s a little more fruit forward this time, but it still feels a bit muddled and flabby.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon is really nice. It’s pleasantly fragrant and interesting enough, but I wish that it had more vibrance and some sort of unique twist to the wheated bourbon formula to make it more memorable.
I feel like I’ve had this type of bourbon over and over already, although I’m not upset about it.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon taste and aftertaste
The flavors have caramel, vanilla, dried orange peel and baked red apple, roasted oak, a lot of cinnamon and clove, dried apricot, some baked bread, and a little grassiness, wheaty gumminess, and nuttiness. I know this is going to sound so obvious, but Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon tastes like your quintessential bourbon that’s sweet, orange-y, and wood spicy with some wheaty grassiness and breadiness
The flavors are nice and have some body, but the definition is ok at best. There’s not much pop yet either, but this is a good start. This feels like the elevated version of Maker’s Mark, but not quite to the level of really good Maker’s Private Selections, although Maker’s uses staves to improve the base bourbon and Holladay goes in totally naked.
With “chewing”, I get denser caramel, red apple, ginger, apricot, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, wheaty breadiness, a hint of nuttiness, and then it comes back to orange and red apple peel in the back. The caramel, fruit, and ginger pop at the front with a lot of oak spices and some wheatiness in the back half.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon tastes much better now, and I appreciate it more. There’s more fullness, expressiveness, and flavor.
Even though the agitation opens it up more and brings some vibrant and interesting pop, it still often feels muddled. Better definition and clarity would have made a huge difference, although that might be reserved for other blends or single barrels they have. And that’s where Larceny Barrel Proof and well-craft Maker’s Mark Private Selections win – personality, richness, and definition.
The aftertaste leaves caramel, orange peel and red apple peel, vanilla, and roasted oak with lasting roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, bread, and wheaty gumminess. After “chewing” it leaves a refreshing spiciness with clove, cinnamon, fennel, and some honey and apple sweetness.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon tastes really good, but it’s not at all unique and misses a few things to get it over the top.
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.
Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Rating
All in all, Holladay Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon is a well made bourbon that matches up well with what the big Kentucky distilleries have to offer. There’s fairly rich sweetness, orange-ness, and plenty of oak spices – all quintessential wheated bourbon notes. If you like wheated bourbon, then you’ll feel right at home with this one too.
As enjoyable as it is, it doesn’t feel unique. While a bourbon is not required to be unique to be worthy, it would help make it a more compelling bourbon, apart from being a well made wheated bourbon from Missouri. I guess that is already a unique selling point. Better definition and more pop would have gotten this to “Top Shelf”.
So is it worth it? For $50-60, I think so. It’s not an absolute must have, but you can’t go wrong if you’re interested in getting it. At this point, I personally do not know of that many compelling wheated bourbons for under $60. Bardstown Bourbon Company Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon initially comes to mind at around $50.
Maker’s Mark Private Selections can be great too for around $65, if crafted correctly. I think Larceny Barrel Proof is still my personal favorite at around $65, and thankfully it has become more available and less marked up over time, which benefits us drinkers. I’m not even including Weller anything because it’s too unobtainable.
At the end of the day, great job to Holladay Distilling. This is the first bourbon that I’ve ever had from them and I’m left with a positive first impression. I hope that there’s even better to come.
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.
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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)
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