Butterscotch | Cinnamon stick | Seared orange rind | Oak

Honey | Caramel | Browned butter | Almond | Fresh sliced apple

Caramel | Buttered bread | Black pepper spice | Oak | Lingering spicy butterscotch

Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co., as the name suggests, is a brewery and distillery operation based in Lexington, Kentucky. The company was founded in 1999 by Pearse Lyons, the president and founder of animal nutrition company Alltech. They made a splash in the beer scene with their Kentucky Ale and later opened Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. in 2012 and launched Town Branch Bourbon. Town Branch Distillery is also the 7th member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Wheated bourbon for Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. has been a long time coming. Distilled 8 years ago, the team was spearheaded by Dave Bob Gaspar, Head Distiller and Blender. According to the company, they always wanted to target 6 years old for their release, but as they crossed the 6 year mark, they made a decision. They waited two more years so they would have a range of barrels from multiple distillation seasons across the 6 year mark, allowing them to use the broader range of barrels for blending across their portfolio. Those releases included Town Branch Overproof Kentucky Straight Whiskey and Town Branch Imperium MMXXIV.

Like many of Town Branch's whiskeys, the company strives for approachability. There isn’t anything in Town Branch 6 Year Wheated Bourbon that will hit you out of left field. Rich caramel and butterscotch rule much of the flavor profile. This is gently offset by notes of cinnamon stick and seared orange rind in the aroma, almond and apple on the finish, and browned butter and spice.

Town Branch 6 Year Wheated Bourbon is a nice sipper that features a surprising amount of spice in its finish. It doesn’t feature a wide range of flavors in its current state, and the few that it has tend to drop off quickly. It has a decent mouthfeel, but its most memorable aspect is its spice. It goes from black pepper spice to lingering spicy butterscotch at the end. Though wheated bourbons are often considered sweet compared to their rye counterparts, there are spicy wheated bourbons. It never gets to an overbearing point and acts more as an accented finish than anything else. Like with many Town Branch whiskeys, the company maintains a healthy approachability threshold across their portfolio that tends to appeal to a broader range of whiskey drinkers than the pure enthusiast crowd.