“Looking for me in a Glass:” The Story of New Dawn’s 10-year Old Wheated Whiskey
New Dawn’s 10-year old Wheated Whiskey is exactly the kind of whiskey I was looking for when I started this journey. Something completely unexpected that would push me out of my comfort zone while also staying true to the bold, classy, and elegant whiskies that I loved to sip.
Essentially, I was looking for me, in a glass.
Yet, when I pulled the sample bottle out of the box I was convinced this wouldn’t be the one.
It was wheated and I dislike most wheated whiskeys. I used to say they taste “too wheaty” but that’s not really true, it’s what my palate picks up as a bitter note on the finish. For me, it disrupts the vibe like someone talking too loudly at the theater.
Which is why “NO WHEATED” was top of the list on my brief when requesting whiskey samples.
Enter Pietro Bortolotti, who sent me 6 bourbons and one dark horse with the explanation, “It’s delicious, really special, we’re so proud of it. You have to try it.” Sigh.
I added this 10-year wheated whiskey to the double blind tasting expecting I would be able to pick it out a mile away and banish it to the dark recesses of my liquor cabinet forever more. Instead, over six separate tastings, as I narrowed the playing field alone and then with my tasting crew, “E” kept rising to the top.
It was always the first on my list, sometimes second or third on the crew’s. When all was said and done, the 10-year wheated whiskey was actually my first choice!
I just fell in love with how rich it is without being cloying or overly sweet. This whiskey admittedly comes with a lot of heat but is refreshing in the way it slowly builds on the palate and then clears with each sip leaving you with citrus and stone fruit notes. A whiskey that is about the journey, not the destination - a true slow sipper. Unanimously, too, we all thought this was a sexy grown folks whiskey. That it embodied black joy and power or as I like to put it, “boss lady vibes.”
Now if you know me, you know I have an expensive palate and I like expensive things. Trust that if we’re picking out anything from backsplash tile to wrap dresses to fancy cheese to power tools, I will ALWAYS be drawn to the most expensive option without even needing to look at the price. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it happened when making this selection. It was, however, ever so disappointing to find that my first choice was WAY too expensive to be my first offering. Especially since I had no intention of diluting as recommended by Pietro. I mean, I did try to cut the proof by half, but then the whiskey went from bold, classy, and elegant to… subdued and common, something not at all like me. Quite frankly, it was like dimming the sunlight.
Like any business woman worth her salt, I made a plan. I would delay releasing the rye by a year, instead of a bourbon and rye together, and I would release the 6 year, my number two first. I’d then look towards sales of my first release to help support the release of the 10-year in the fall, just in time for holiday gifting!
Perhaps things didn’t go exactly as planned, we are still working on getting in stores and to all of the contiguous US, BUT we did get to a place where I could do a limited release of this beautiful whiskey. So if you like our 10-year Wheated Whiskey be sure to let us know, spread the word, and I might expand the release so more people can try it.
