Bernheim’s regular release is probably the first wheat whiskey I was able to try…I honestly wasn’t impressed enough to buy a bottle. Some time later I tried the Barrel Proof expression and found it to be far superior…and eventually I bought my own bottle. It went pretty fast, but I wanted to get a chance to review the Bernheim Barrel Proof before the bottle went dry.
Bernheim is made by Heaven Hill and uses a mash bill of 51% wheat, 37% corn, and 12% malted barley. This particular bottle of Bernheim Barrel Strength is from batch A224…and if you can read Heaven Hill’s code, that means it was released in February 2024 and was the first release of this limited edition whiskey for that year. It was bottled at 125.2 proof (62.6% ABV), but does not have an age statement, although the regular expression is 7 year and this is believed to be between 7 and 9.
The liquid was a medium amber in the glass and the nose was full of notes of vanilla and caramel, along with a touch of apple. The Bernheim Barrel Proof was sweet on the tip of the tongue, offering up notes of sugar cookie and dark brown sugar, but the proof quickly shows its presence as it moves to the mid-palate. There there’s a tremendous amount of spice, most likely just from the alcohol content, along with a fairly strong oakiness, and the finish has notes of dark chocolate, which is just fantastic. At $70 or so, I would highly recommend Bernheim Barrel Proof…and it’s not even my favorite wheat whiskey! (That honor would go to Star Hill Farms Wheat Whiskey, which has an SRP of $100, but if you can find it, you’ll likely pay at least double that.)
