Last month, during our brackets, I included exactly one bourbon that I’d never previously reviewed. It was a reader suggestion that, honestly, I had never seen for sale in Minnesota. But when I unexpectedly ran across it during my cross-metro shopping trip, I knew that it would be a shame to pass by the suggestion.
I mean, what is the point of asking for suggestions if you then turn around and ignore them?
Here is what I had to say about this during the competition.
Wheel Horse Bourbon is a new one to me. It was suggested by a reader in the last giveaway. I don’t know too much about it, but I know that it was distilled at the Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro, Kentucky. This property has been distilling whiskey off and on since the late 1800s. It was the home of “The Whiskey Without A Headache” until Prohibition. After Prohibition, it was run by the Medley Family until the 1980s. The property was briefly the OZ Tyler Distillery, making some truly terrible whiskey, before being renamed to Green River in 2019 and deciding to stop using the TerrePure process for the future whiskeys they were making there. I was thrilled to read this, which made me decide to take another chance on the whiskey produced there.
Now let’s see how it does in a proper tasting without the influence of another bourbon clouding my tastebuds.
Wheel Horse Bourbon
Purchase Info: $25.96 for a 750 mL bottle at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassen, MN.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.73
Details: 50.5% ABV. 4 years old
Nose: Strong notes of soapy anise lead off with caramel and lumber underneath.
Mouth: Notes of clove, cinnamon, herbal mint, and oak.
Finish: On the longer side of medium length and warm. Lingering notes of anise, clove, red fruit, minerals, and oak.
Thoughts: This one could be divisive. It's not bad at all, but the strong herbal baking spice notes could put some people off. I like it enough to give the rye a try, but probably not enough to buy it again unless I'm looking to use it in a cocktail that would play well with anise and clove notes. I will give this a neutral rating because it doesn’t quite align with my palate, but you may love it. .
If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.