WheatleyVodka(700ml)

Sans Buffalo Trace Master Distiller, Harlen Wheatley has been a driving force behind the quest to craft the perfect vodka. And if he was going to put his name on it, he wasn’t going to be content with making “bubblegum spiritâ€? It’s something industry insiders rarely talk about, but the majority of vodkas start out as grain neutral spirit (GNS) manufactured by massive industrial plants, usually near where most of the grain is farmed. Vodka brands will take this GNS and then either redistill it, filter it, dilute it or sometimes just directly bottle it. The rest is about presentation and marketing. Wheatley takes the path less trodden. It’s been a passion project of many years involving significant trial and error. A sweet spot was achieved by distilling ten times using majority corn plus Red Winter Wheat, the same wheat as used in Pappy Van Winkle and Weller Bourbons. (Once fermented, it could literally be used to make Bourbon!) Adds Wheatley, “They’re good ingredients to give the vodka that soft, delicate finish that we likeâ€? Limestone filtered water adds magnesium and calcium while filtering out elements like iron.