I have been looking forward to getting my hands on Laws Whiskey House Five-Year Centennial Straight Wheat Batch 4. Bottled at 50% ABV, mash bill: 100% Centennial Wheat, 50% raw and priced at $79.99/ 750ml bottle, it promises genuine character.
Nose
This whiskey is golden orange in color. Aromatics are mild and mellow, offering up a bakery full of raw flour, buttered scones, fresh tangerine peel, crème brulée, and blue cotton candy. This tastes like honey melted into hot oatmeal piled high with white raisins, butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Stick your nose into the glass for too long, and youll start drooling.
Palate
Smooth and mellow buckwheat and orange peel are as appetizing on the palate. There are also notes of sour green apples, banana bread, bread pudding, white grapes, honeycomb, saffron, daisy, sweet, sugary, caramelized sugar, and toasted sugar. Tutti-fruiti, candy necklace, stovetop popcorn, and grassy flavors give this whiskey the flavor of maturity and take time to develop on the tongue. Theres a long finish full of heady spices, freshly cut grass, hot iron, and rose petals. It ends with a palate-cleansing bitterness and a lingering note of anise, making me want to serve this as a digestif.
Finish
It seems the fourth batch got the bitter finish dialed in, as both my colleagues who reviewed previous batches mentioned the bitterness as a detractor. This is smoother and maltier than other all-wheat whiskies Ive tasted of late, giving this a sense of completeness not found in other examples. Bravo.
The Bottom Line
Laws Whiskey House Five-Year Centennial Straight Wheat Batch 4 is outstanding — one of those bottles that reminds you why you fell in love with whiskey in the first place. If you see it at $79.99/ 750ml bottle, do not hesitate. This one earns a permanent spot on the shelf.
