Finger Lakes Distilling McKenzie Bottled-in-Bond Wheated Bourbon (2020) Review

It took until December, but finally! Some good news in 2020. Finger Lakes Distilling at long last has released another batch of their McKenzie Bottled-in-Bond Wheated Bourbon. While it was not intended to be a limited offering, it unfortunately became one. The reason being? It’s just too damned good. The roaring success of this product caused sales to heavily outpace production. The tight restrictions on what can be labelled as bottled-in-bond made for a time of not enough barrels from the same distilling season coming of age at the right time to make a batch large enough for distribution. But alas! Enough barrels of this particular mash are ready! This whiskey has been mashed from 70% corn, 20% wheat, and 10% malted barley, fermented in open-top fermenters, distilled on a column still, aged for four years, and bottled in accordance with the rules of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897.

The nose is rich, roasted corn with deeper caramel, custard, and vanilla notes. A touch of eucalyptus and juniper, too. On the palate is bullseye caramel cream candies, dried fruit, and mulling spices. The finish is long, warm, and fades with a sweetness finely balanced by eucalyptus.

I can with confidence say that this is probably the best bourbon on the market under $50. In conversation I was asked if this bottle was comparable to Weller Special Reserve and my response was simple, but I stand by it — it’s better.

This was not a completely objective review as it was not done blind. I was aware of what I was drinking at the time of drinking it. The bottle was purchased by myself and was not provided by Finger Lakes Distilling for review.

Finger Lakes Distilling is located in Burdett, NY and has been a pioneer in craft distilling for more than a decade. fingerlakesdistilling.com