Bernheim Wheat Marks 20 Years with a 10-Year, 115-Proof Anniversary Bottling

In 2005, Heaven Hill bet that soft winter wheat could headline an American whiskey style, not just soften a bourbon mashbill. Twenty years later, Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey gets a proper anniversary bottle: a 10-year, 115-proof limited edition at $84.99 suggested retail.

Executive Chairman Max L. Shapira called the original launch a chance that helped open the door for more American whiskey styles. The commemorative release keeps Bernheim’s wheat-forward recipe, pulls from older barrels than the standard seven-year core, and dresses the bottle with a copper front plate. Official notes: cinnamon and baking spice with vanilla and oak on the nose; molasses and butterscotch on the palate; a peppery, lingering finish.

Produced at Bernheim Distillery and aged in Bardstown rickhouses, it hits shelves in limited quantities nationwide. For drinkers who still think wheat whiskey is a novelty aisle, this is the bottle that argues the category has a birthday cake — and a proof point — worth celebrating.

Source: Heaven Hill Distillery / heavenhill.com news. Photo credit: Heaven Hill Distillery / retail press imagery.