Corn | Fresh grain | Light vegetal scents | Hints of malted barley | Light vanilla cream | Touch of peppercorn | Faint black cherry | Light and youthful overall

Sweet vanilla cream | Slight oak | Touch of spice | Thin mouthfeel

Thin vanilla | Fleeting oak | Faintest touch of spice | Short

Founded by Natasha and Ryan DeHart, Bendt Distilling Co. is located in an old Piggly Wiggly building in Lewisville, Texas. The company makes both blended and straight whiskeys that are all distilled in-house from local Texas grain, grown just down the road from the distillery. For Bendt No. 5, the company blends together five types of distinctive whiskeys that are all aged two years or more.

While blending various types of sourced whiskeys is common, the concept of mixing five unique in-house distilled whiskeys is fascinating. In theory, taking bourbon, rye, malt, wheat, and light whiskey should produce a cornucopia of flavors, as each whiskey has a distinctive mashbill that highlights various grains. However, in execution, Bendt No. 5 falls short where it counts. Its sip starts with a nose full of various aromas, though each is noticeably light in nature. While the midpoint features sweet vanilla cream, it has very little supporting cast to give it depth and carries with it a thin mouthfeel. The finish is gone before you know it due to simple flavors propping it up. Bendt No. 5 isn’t bad in nature, it’s just so incredibly light in delivery that it’s hard to appreciate. While I love the concept, I’d like to see this blend revisited with a higher proof and an eye on tweaking the blend to pull out more prominent flavors from the cast of characters that make it up.