The Best Wheated Bourbons You Can Actually Find on a Shelf
The Best Wheated Bourbons You Can Actually Find on a Shelf
Wheated bourbons occupy a special corner of the American whiskey world, swapping the traditional rye grain in the mash bill for wheat to produce a softer, sweeter, and often more approachable spirit. The result is a rounder flavor profile — think gentle vanilla, honeyed bread, and subtle fruit — that appeals to newcomers and seasoned collectors alike. For years, the category was dominated by a handful of iconic names that became nearly impossible to find at retail, but the landscape has genuinely shifted as both established distilleries and ambitious craft producers have stepped up to fill the gap. When evaluating a wheated bourbon, it helps to look beyond the hype and focus on what's actually in the glass: the balance between sweetness and oak, how the proof affects texture and finish, and whether the spirit shows real complexity or simply trades on its mash bill alone.
W.L. Weller Special Reserve: Buffalo Trace's Gateway Wheater
Named after William Larue Weller, a distiller credited by some as the first to use wheat as a secondary grain in straight bourbon, Weller Special Reserve is the entry point into Buffalo Trace's hyped and sought-after Weller lineup. Bottled at 90 proof, it pours a distinctive burnt orange color and opens with a sweet nose of caramel and honeysuckle before delivering tasting notes of honey, butterscotch, and soft woodiness. The finish is smooth and gently sweet — it's a bottle many drinkers use to discover whether wheated bourbon is the style for them. Despite hype inflating secondary market prices, Weller Special Reserve still appears at retail in many markets, and at its MSRP it remains a compelling, everyday sipping bourbon. Buy it now!
Maker's Mark 46: French-Oaked and Genuinely Elevated
Maker's Mark 46 was first released in 2010 as the creation of Bill Samuels Jr. — the first new major expression since the original Maker's Mark hit shelves in 1958. The process begins with fully matured Maker's Mark, which uses 70% corn and 16% soft red winter wheat in its mash bill, before ten heavily seared French oak staves are inserted into the barrel for an additional two to three months of finishing in the distillery's limestone cellar. The name '46' comes from the experiment number that finally delivered the flavor profile the distillers were searching for after countless trials. The result is a bourbon with notes of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon toast, and charred French oak that builds noticeably more complexity than the standard expression, and remains widely available for around $40. Buy it now!
Larceny Barrel Proof: Heaven Hill's Uncut Wheated Gem
Heaven Hill's Larceny Barrel Proof draws on the distillery's historic wheated mash bill — known internally as Old Fitzgerald Distillate — and bottles it non-chill filtered at full barrel proof three times a year. Each batch lands in the 120–126 proof range and is aged between six and eight years, with the mash bill running 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. Across recent releases, reviewers have consistently found rich, well-structured tasting notes: caramel, baking spices, brown sugar, allspice, and a long finish of barrel char, maple, and cola, with the wheat character providing a silky mid-palate that prevents the high proof from turning harsh. Breaking Bourbon named it their number-one whiskey of the year in 2022, and pound-for-pound, no other shelf-available barrel-proof wheater currently matches its combination of flavor and price. Buy it now!
Tattersall Bottled-in-Bond: Minnesota's Craft Wheated Standout
Tattersall Distilling, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become one of the most credible craft bonded producers in the country, and their wheated bourbon is a genuine standout. The mash bill runs 55% yellow corn, 35% winter wheat, and 10% malted barley — an unusually high wheat content that sets it apart from most Kentucky expressions. The 2024 six-year-old release was recognized by Wine Enthusiast as part of their Top 100 Spirits list, praised for its rich, bold caramel aroma and nuanced palate of buttery toffee, vanilla pudding, and cinnamon-dusted French toast, with a finish of toffee, dried apricot, and a hint of mint. Tattersall uses a Vendome hybrid still, a five-day sweet mash fermentation, and Black Swan Cooperage barrels with a heavy toast and number-three char — a level of production specificity rarely seen at this scale.
Penelope Wheated: New Jersey Craft Blending Done Right
Penelope Bourbon, founded in New Jersey and built on a model of sourcing and expert blending, released their dedicated wheated expression in early 2025 as the fifth addition to their core lineup. It's a four-grain bourbon with a mash bill of 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley — a construction that co-founder and Master Blender Danny Polise says is deliberately more different from their Four Grain Bourbon than the percentages might suggest. Bottled at 95 proof and priced at $40, it hits a compelling sweet spot for drinkers who want a wheated-forward profile without sacrificing the structural backbone that a touch of rye provides. The expression is approachable enough for bourbon newcomers while layered enough to engage enthusiasts, and its shelf availability makes it an easy recommendation over harder-to-find alternatives. Buy it now!
Leiper's Fork Bottled-in-Bond: Tennessee Craft With Real Structure
Leiper's Fork Distillery, based in Franklin, Tennessee, produces a Bottled-in-Bond wheated bourbon that meets the strict legal requirements of the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act — aged at least four years, distilled in a single season at a single distillery, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. That higher proof gives the bourbon genuine substance while staying true to the wheated character, balancing notes of toffee, orange oil, toasted oak, and a grain-forward mid-palate that reviewers have described as tasting like buttered cornbread with marmalade. As a craft producer, Leiper's Fork brings more textural weight to the wheated format than entry-level Kentucky expressions manage, making it a compelling alternative for drinkers who want the softness of wheat but don't want to sacrifice a structural backbone. It pairs well in a flight against bigger-name wheaters and consistently holds its own.
Redwood Empire Screaming Titan: California Wheated With West Coast Character
Redwood Empire Distilling, based in Sonoma County, California, crafts Screaming Titan as a wheated mash bill bourbon aged in American oak, drawing inspiration from the towering redwood trees that frame the region — an ethos of balance and strength the distillery builds into every release. The nose opens with bold aromas of chocolate and fresh-cut wood, while the palate delivers butterscotch and dried cherries before finishing cleanly with oak. As a West Coast craft expression, Screaming Titan offers a distinctive point of difference from Kentucky-centric wheated bourbons, producing a profile that's slightly earthier and darker while retaining the category's signature softness. Bottled at 48% ABV and widely distributed across the western United States, it represents one of the more accessible and distinctive craft wheated options outside of Kentucky's borders.
More Galleries