The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
World Whiskey Society 10 Year Old Wheated Bourbon
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
The first thing to understand about this bottle is who it comes from, which has more to it than merely where it comes from. The name “World Whiskey Society” makes this sound like club that does their own bottlings, akin to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Instead, they are a bottling company, sometimes also referred to as a non-distiller producer (NDP).
The other answer to the question “who” is the sourcing. This is claimed as a 10 year old bourbon from a distiller in Oklahoma, which narrows the undisclosed source down considerably. The only distillery I’m aware of in Oklahoma that could possibly have furnished 10 years old-plus stock in 2023 is Prairie Wolf Spirits.
This is billed as a 10 year old, single barrel bourbon finished in an old Port pipe. The production run is billed as 20,000 bottles, so certainly more than one Port pipe was used; the average Port pipe holds 550 liters (145 gallons), but some are as large as 650 liters. This is not just a wheated bourbon, but a very high wheat, low corn bourbon. It was bottled at 102 proof.
In terms of packaging, I found the faux copper unicorn on the stopper an odd touch. I’m not sure if they were trying to riff on the Blanton’s stopper, declare their bottle is a unicorn or just having a laugh, I can’t tell you. What I will say is I think the look of the thing is fake that it lacks the class of the Blanton’s stopper.
The Bourbon
The nose has a melted brown sugar meets blackberry wine character to it, rounded out by traces of cocoa earthiness and dry pepper. Those elements came together in the palate to create a candy that was half butterscotch, half caramel, with a filling made from ruby Port. The peppery aspect fell away almost entirely, but this reasserted itself in a dry, spicy and quite woody finish.
The Price
This item is priced at $164.
