How much time do I usually spend between getting a new bourbon and writing a review of it? A good average is probably two months, but there are some whiskies on my shelf that have been waiting for review for close to a year. Every now and then something extraordinary makes me want to write much, much sooner. I acquired Blue Note Wheated Bourbon 3 days ago, and it was only released to the public within the last month…and it made such a great first impression that I felt the need to write about it sooner rather than later.
Blue Note is based in Memphis, Tennessee, and the best thing I’ve had from them previous to now was their Uncut, Unfiltered Bourbon. The do source their whiskey, but apparently most of it is sourced from Green River Distillery in Kentucky, so we know the source is excellent. They then age and bottle the whiskey at their own facility in Memphis. It comes as no great surprise then that the mash bill for the Blue Note Wheated Bourbon is the same as the Green River Wheated Bourbon: 70% corn, 21% wheat, and 9% malted barley. The regular Green River product costs about $35 and is bottled at 90 proof; the Full Proof version is bottled at 109.3 proof and costs about $50 (and both are aged in Kentucky). This Blue Note version is bottled at 101 proof and costs about $45.
The color of the Blue Note Wheated in the glass was a light to medium amber, and it had ridiculously slowly moving legs when swirled around in the glass…almost like it was a honey-finished product (it’s not). On the nose, I got ripe peach and apple notes, as well as a floral bouquet aroma that was unexpected. Further sniffs got into layers of vanilla custard and caramel. On the sip, there was honey and toffee up front along with a pastry and almost confectionary note. The mid-palate showed up with just a touch of cinnamon heat and a delicate oakiness that never threatened to be drying or bitter.
This Blue Note Wheated Bourbon is delightful and I hope it becomes a regular product for the company. I also can’t wait until they decide to do an Uncut version of it.
