Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Details
Distillery: Wyoming Whiskey
Type & Region: Bourbon, Wyoming, USA
Alcohol: 44%
Composition:68% Corn, 20% wheat, 12% barley
Aged: 5 years
Color: 1.2/2.0 on the color scale (chestnut, oloroso sherry)
Price: $30-40
From the company website:
A traditional bourbon, from an untraditional place. Our original, flagship, and defining product, the award-winning Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey.
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon overview
I’ve seen bottles of Wyoming Whiskey for years in the DMV, but only now have I gotten around to trying and reviewing their whiskey. It just wasn’t high on my list of whiskeys to review in the near or medium-term, more of an “I’ll get to it when I can” type of thing. To be honest, having bottles given to me helps move things up the queue, so here I am with my first experience (thanks Wyoming Whiskey).
Anyways, Wyoming Whiskey was founded in 2006 and is located in Kirby, Wyoming. They’ve been doing this whiskey thing for a surprisingly long time, to the point that they’ve released a 10 year old bourbon that they distilled themselves, as limited as it might be. 2006 was a totally different time, when bourbon was sort of popular, but it wasn’t that popular.
I don’t think anyone started a distillery in 2006 because it was “sexy” and there was so much demand for it. I mean…in 2006 I’m pretty sure all the BTAC and Pappy Van Winkle Whiskeys were easy to obtain, I’ve heard that 15+ year old Willett Purple Tops were quite affordable, and I know for a fact that there was some absolutely magical Pure Kentucky bourbon with 10+ year old bourbon (because I drank and reviewed it). You started a distillery in 2006 because you loved it and you hoped to share that with other people.
Now if you don’t know where Kirby, Wyoming is…well neither do I. I even looked it up on Google Maps and still have no idea where it is or what it’s near. To be fair, I’m a city slicker from the East Coast. But if you’re in the middle of nowhere with a lot of land, I guess that means you have a lot of room for facilities, access to grains, and some very fresh water. And that’s what Wyoming whiskey Whiskey does: use local grains and water. Not only that, they make wheated bourbon.
That brings us to Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon, a 5 year old wheated bourbon. That age statement is a gutsy decision when so many distilleries avoid age statements entirely, and is even more gutsy considering that this is their “entry level” bourbon. While 5 years isn’t necessarily that old, it’s still a bold statement because this is their entry-level and most affordable bourbon. They have some aged stock and they want you to know it.
Let’s find out what’s cooking in Wyoming in this Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon review.
Thanks to Wyoming Whiskey for providing this bottle. 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.
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon smell
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch starts with toasted honey, honeysuckle, bright apricot, fennel, orange zest, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, lemon, and roasted coffee and nuts in the back. Over a few minutes, I start to smell a little more caramel and vanilla custard, and it smells nice. Among other things, I appreciate that there’s no weird graininess, funkiness, or earthiness, so I can already say that the youthful weirdness and funk have been aged-out.
After swirling I smell honey, lemon, apricot, licorice, roasted oak, cinnamon, vanilla cream, and a little baked bread, earthy pumpernickel, eucalyptus, and coffee. I wish there was more body and density, because that lemon tart vibe is really nice.
This reminds me a lot of some Four Roses bourbons with that fruity, herbal, and delicate personality. I did just finish-up reviewing the 10 sample Four Roses Ten Recipe Tasting Experience, so it’s still top of mind for me, although I can’t recall which mashbill and yeast combination it smells like.
Overall though, the range and layers are starting to show, but the body and density are lacking, largely in part because of the ABV.
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon taste and aftertaste
First, I taste honey, fennel, preserved lemon, apricot, vanilla cream, roasted oak, cinnamon, and some earthy pumpernickel with a slight honey baked bread character. It’s sweet, citrusy, and creamy, driven by the lemony honey. Lemon cream tart is a good description, and yet again there’s a very Four Roses-y vibe to it.
I am so relieved that this doesn’t have any youthful graininess or funk. It feels decently developed, and the fruitiness and range are evidence of that development and make it easy drinking.
With “chewing” I taste honey, fennel, preserved lemon, apricot, roasted oak, vanilla, cinnamon, and honeyed bread. There’s this slight pop of lemon, vanilla, and fennel (lemon tart) that adds a new layer of flavor.
The finish starts with honey, preserved lemon, roasted oak, vanilla, cinnamon, and licorice with some lingering sweet earthiness. After “chewing” it leaves honey, lemon, licorice, pumpernickel, roasted oak, vanilla, and cinnamon, a pleasant ending of lemon tart or lemon cookie.
For a wheated bourbon, it’s really not that clove or orange forward. It’s really nothing like Maker’s Mark, Weller Special Reserve, Larceny, Green River Wheated Bourbon, or Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Wheated Bourbon. I haven’t had another wheated bourbon like it, and that’s a plus.
I wish the flavors had a little more definition and oomph because they can come off a little flabby and soft, but Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch overall tastes nice. This profile is probably by design because they have higher ABV options, but that’s still what I want from every bourbon, regardless of age or ABV.
Even so, the viscosity isn’t bad at all. Ideally for me, this would be aged longer to fill out the viscosity with even more substance because the potential is there, but again this was probably selected and blended a certain way to control cost and allow the higher end single barrel and other more premium releases to use even better stock.
As-is right now, the personality feels good, but this isn’t necessarily the type of bourbon I usually drink. But what I normally drink and what I review are often two very different things.
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.Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Rating
Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch starts with toasted honey, honeysuckle, bright apricot, fennel, orange zest, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, lemon, and roasted coffee and nuts in the back. Over a few minutes, I start to smell a little more caramel and vanilla custard, and it smells nice. Among other things, I appreciate that there’s no weird graininess, funkiness, or earthiness, so I can already say that the youthful weirdness and funk have been aged-out.
This is good. I’m a big fan of lemon-y sweets and desserts, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch has those nice notes in the scents and flavors. It’s also unique for a wheated bourbon, which is usually more clove and orange forward. Uniqueness, or at least uniqueness that I enjoy, is always great.
On that note, this is a fairly well-matured bourbon that has escaped from the dreaded “craft” profile, and into the big leagues with traits that compare well to the likes of Buffalo Trace and Old Forester 86 Proof (I actually rate Wyoming Whiskey higher than both).
Admittedly, Wyoming Whiskey operating for nearly 20 years (at least as of this review) is starting to take it away from “craft”, although it’s nowhere near as large and old as many of the major Kentucky distilleries and MGP. So…I guess that it’s still more “craft” than not, but the bourbon doesn’t make me think “craft”.
So when you’re looking to go off the beaten path for your next affordable-ish bourbon, especially wheated bourbon, you can’t go wrong with this for $30-40. I wish it were 90 or 94 proof to better express the good stuff in there, but I’m sure they have a reason for it even though I don’t agree with it. Even so, it’s still got some good personality and range, coming in with an approachable personality.
I’d also pick this over Green River Bourbon, Maker’s Mark, and Weller Special Reserve, although it’s not quite to the level of Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Wheated Bourbon.
I’m glad that I can provide a generally positive review of Wyoming Whiskey, because I really hate it when I have to be not as positive. I’ve done it before (with the consequence being that the company stops sending me stuff), but I ultimately do these reviews to be honest. If I piss off a company, so be it.
Good job Wyoming Whiskey, and I’m looking forward to trying more.
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)
