The Bernheim Original is one of the few Straight Wheat Whiskies that are being produced. Apart from the William Larue Weller, its the only one I can think of. Straight Wheat means that at least 51% of the mash of which the whiskey is made is wheat. The rest can be any other grain, usually barley, corn or rye.

Nose:
The nose is quite malty with lots of cereals. The sweetness is quite different from a bourbon, probably because of the different mash being used. It also has some mint and some flowers. Quite light with the focus on cereals and dough. Some licorice maybe?

Taste:
The mouth feel is somewhat dusty with a bit more oomph than I expected. Also a little dry in the mouth. For some reason it is not as sweet as I expected and it reminds me of salsa with some peppers, tomato and maybe avocado. The lack of sweetness can be caused by wheat being less sweet than corn…

Finish:
The finish is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be after tasting it. A LOT! Its quite long, but very light in flavour. By the end of the finish its gets a little drying again. There is also some oak in there, the first I encounter in this whiskey and a little spice.

Quite nice, but not really great. There are some very nice characteristics to this whiskey, but it is not as different as I expected. The wheatedness is something to be explored, but I don’t think I would return to this whiskey as often as I would like.

Bernheim Original, 45%, about 60 euros, available from Master of Malt.

Nose: 7
Taste: 7
Finish: 6
Overall experience: 7
Price/quality: -1

Total: 26 points