Ben Holladay Distillery in Missouri has become one of those distilleries that I always find myself paying attention to. They distill, age, and bottle their own whiskey, and some of their original releases were bottles I really enjoyed when they first came out. The higher-proof versions didn't quite hit the same level for me, so when I saw this Soft Red Wheat Double Oaked Bourbon showing up in Indiana, I was curious to see where this one would land.
This particular release comes in at 57% ABV and is 6 years and 8 months old. It was originally a distillery-exclusive release in 375 mL bottles before Ben Holladay moved to 750 mL bottles for the wider release. The Indiana allocation was essentially a one-time drop, and from what I understand, we'll have to wait for the next batches to be ready before seeing more.
The bourbon itself starts with Ben Holladay's Soft Red Wheat Bourbon mash bill of 73% corn, 15% soft red wheat, and 12% malted barley. It's initially aged in a #3 char American oak barrel before being moved into a secondary oak cask for the double-oaked portion of the process.
Here's where things get really interesting. After that secondary oak aging, the barrels are moved into Ben Holladay's Ancient Cave, where the temperature remains around 60 degrees. Unlike a traditional rickhouse, where seasonal temperature swings encourage the whiskey to move in and out of the wood, the cave provides a much more consistent environment. That makes for a really cool story, and as someone who enjoys double-oaked bourbon, I was genuinely interested to see what that would do to the whiskey. At the same time, I wondered if keeping the whiskey in such a consistent environment would limit the impact of that secondary oak.
Age Statement: 6 years & 8 months.
ABV: 57% (Cask strength).
Mash bill: 73% corn, 15% soft red wheat, and 12% malted barley.
Finishing: Char #3 barrel in a cave.
Area of Distillation: Weston, Missouri.
Appearance: Dark rich oak.
On the nose:
The nose starts off with a ton of dark chocolate. I'm talking chocolate ganache, chocolate icing, and even a little bit of that chocolate-on-vanilla-cake character. There is a really nice sweetness underneath it that works beautifully with the soft red wheat. There's also some dark fruit coming through, with hints of fig, plum, and grape, along with oak, vanilla, caramel, and a touch of char. There's even a little bit of waxiness from the malted barley.
The proof brings some warmth, but it's surprisingly tame considering this is 57% ABV. I was actually expecting the nose to show even more double-oak influence, especially knowing the whiskey spent time in a relatively stable cave environment. Overall, though, this is a really enjoyable nose. The dark chocolate and charred oak combination is especially appealing.
Taste:
The palate is where things start to get a little more complicated. First off, this drinks hotter than I expected. At 57% ABV, I knew there would be some heat, but this comes across more like it's punching above its proof. There is a noticeable barrel-proof warmth right from the start. The initial flavors are solid. There's oak, vanilla, deep caramel, and a little bit of butteriness.
There's also a nice cling to the palate, with oak spice hanging around after the initial sip. The whiskey definitely comes across as double oaked, but thankfully it isn't overwhelmingly woody. There is plenty of char and oak influence without completely burying the bourbon underneath it. Unfortunately, there's another flavor that starts to emerge. There's a bitterness here that I just can't get past. It comes across as damp or musty oak, almost like wet wood.
There's also a waxy, earthy quality that shows up alongside it, and for me, that combination isn't particularly pleasant. What's frustrating is that the rest of the palate is actually pretty solid. The bourbon has the structure, the oak, the caramel, and the spice that I would expect. But that underlying bitterness keeps showing up and really takes away from the experience.
Finish:
The lingering oak and spice are probably the strongest part of the finish, with some wood sugars and deeper caramel hanging around nicely. There’s a decent amount of length here, and the oak continues to cling to the palate without becoming overwhelmingly dry. Unfortunately, that musty bitterness carries over as well. It has an earthy, damp-oak quality that takes away from what could otherwise be a fairly enjoyable ending.
The finish isn't necessarily harsh, but that underlying bitterness keeps pulling my attention away from the sweeter caramel, oak, and spice notes. I kept coming back to the same thought: there’s a good bourbon underneath this, but something about the flavor profile just isn't quite clicking for me.
Final Thoughts:
There is a lot to like about the idea behind Ben Holladay's Soft Red Wheat Double Oaked Bourbon. It's a nearly seven-year-old bourbon, bottled at cask strength, made entirely in-house, and built around a really interesting maturation process. I love the transparency Ben Holladay provides, and I think the Ancient Cave is one of the more interesting stories I've seen attached to a bourbon release. The problem is that I'm not convinced the cave is doing this whiskey any favors.
The whole point of double-oaking is to introduce another layer of oak influence, and I think the relatively stable cave environment may be limiting some of the interaction between the whiskey and the wood. Instead of getting the complexity I was hoping for, this comes across as fairly straightforward. And then there's that bitterness.
That musty, damp-oak character is the biggest issue for me, and unfortunately it's something I noticed consistently throughout the tasting. Maybe additional age before the secondary oak process could help. Maybe a different approach to the cave maturation would produce a different result. Whatever the case, this particular bottle just didn't come together the way I wanted it to.
At around $79.99, the price isn't unreasonable on paper for a 6-year-8-month-old, cask-strength, double-oaked bourbon. I also really appreciate that you're getting a true craft whiskey where the distillery is doing the distilling, aging, and bottling themselves. But ultimately, I'm buying the whiskey in the bottle, not just the story surrounding it. And unfortunately, this one lands right around average for me. I like the concept. I like the presentation. I like the transparency. I just don't love the whiskey itself.
Rating: C (Average).
Cost: $79.99 for 750ml.
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