Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon Rickhouse Proof is a six-year-old wheated bourbon from Missouri — bottled at whatever proof the barrel delivers (119.8 proof / ~60% ABV). The mash bill uses 73% corn, 15% soft red wheat and 12% malted barley, creating a sweeter, softer bourbon than rye-heavy recipes.
Rickhouse proof — essentially barrel proof — gives this wheated bourbon full expression. The stone fruits, banana nut bread and baking spices arrive with genuine intensity, and water opens additional butterscotch and floral notes. The soft red wheat variety provides a distinctly different character from the hard red winter wheat used by most wheated bourbons.
Ben Holladay is a sleeper hit — bold, balanced and criminally underhyped. The Missouri provenance may lack Kentucky's cachet, but the quality is genuine and the price, while not cheap, is fair for a six-year-old barrel-proof wheated bourbon. Outstanding flavour in every sip from one of America's most underrated bourbon producers.
