Hartman’s Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon: A New Benchmark for High Wheat Whiskey. Blog #49

Welcome back to Bourbon and BS, the blog and podcast where we dive deep into the world of spirits, one shot at a time. I’m Mike Foti, Founder and Director of the Bison Bourbon and Spirits Training Company — where my mission is simple: It’s to help you Master Spirits and Guide Choices.

This is a product review not a promotion. My webiste is not set up to provide some bull story to sell someone product. I currently conduct tours and tastings at The Buffalo Distilling Company, so take this for what it tells you about a truely unique product.

Anyone who knows me also knows my preference in bourbons is wheated, typically high wheat. I must tell you that Justin Hartmin has developed one of the nicest wheated bourbons I have had in my whiskey journey over two decades. I will most likely get some push back on this blog but taste and whiskey experience is a very personal thing and I stand by what I feel about this product.

Wheated bourbon has long been associated with softness, sweetness, and approachability, but Hartman’s newly released Bottled in Bond expression demonstrates something far more compelling: when wheat is used not as a supporting grain but as a dominant force, the entire architecture of the whiskey changes. This is a bourbon built on a mash bill of 60% corn, 35% wheat, and 5% malted barley — a ratio that places it among the highest wheat bourbons on the market and gives it a sensory identity that neither Maker’s Mark nor Buffalo Trace’s wheated line fully captures.

Hartman’s BiB isn’t simply a “smooth wheater.” It’s a case study in how high wheat bourbons age

differently, how grain composition shapes flavor more profoundly than many drinkers realize, and how thoughtful distillation and barrel selection can outperform heritage brands that cost twice as much or more.

The Bottled in Bond Foundation

The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 remains one of the most important quality guarantees in American whiskey. For Hartman’s, the BiB designation provides structural clarity:

• 100 proof delivers weight, warmth, and definition

• Minimum four years in a federally bonded warehouse ensures meaningful maturation

• Single distilling season, one distiller, one distillery preserves consistency and identity

This framework gives the whiskey a backbone — a sense of architecture — that allows the unusually high wheat content to express itself without becoming overly soft or collapsing into sweetness.

Why High Wheat Bourbons Age Differently

Most wheated bourbons contain 12–20% wheat. Hartman’s uses 35%, and that difference is not incremental — it is transformational.

Wheat behaves differently in the barrel than rye or high malt formulations:

• Wheat softens tannins, reducing the drying effect that younger bourbons often show

• Wheat amplifies sweetness, especially pastry like grain notes

• Wheat masks youth, allowing a four year BiB to drink with the cohesion of a six or seven year bourbon

• Wheat enhances viscosity, creating a rounded, creamy mid palate

• Wheat reduces bitterness, allowing oak to integrate rather than dominate

This is why Hartman’s BiB can outperform well known bottles like E.H. Taylor Small Batch, despite Taylor’s higher price and heritage pedigree. The grain bill itself is doing quiet, powerful work.

Sensory Profile: Hartman’s 60/35/5 Wheated Bottled in Bond

Nose

The aroma opens with caramel and vanilla, but quickly moves into deeper territory: warm pastry, honeyed grain, toasted oak, and a subtle malt biscuit note. The wheat content pushes the nose toward a bakery sweet profile rather than the spice oak interplay found in low rye bourbons.

Palate

The first impression is soft, sultry sweetness — not sugary, but grain driven. Wheat contributes a chocolate tinged spice, a characteristic often mistaken for oak influence but rooted in the grain itself. Notes of toffee, apricot, honey, and warm cereal build across the mid palate, which is unusually dense for a four year bourbon. The 100 proof structure keeps everything cohesive, preventing the sweetness from becoming flabby.

Finish

The finish is long, warm, and remarkably gentle. Wheat suppresses sharp edges, allowing the proof to express length without heat. Echoes of brown sugar, tangerine, and seasoned oak linger, creating a finish that feels both comforting and quietly complex.

How It Stands Against Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace Wheaters

Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace’s wheated mash bill (used for Weller and Van Winkle) both hover around 16% wheat. They are sweet, friendly, and widely loved — but they do not express wheat as a dominant grain. Their profiles rely more heavily on corn sweetness and oak influence.

Hartman’s, by contrast, is a grain forward wheater. The wheat is not a softening agent; it is the star of the show.

This creates:

• A richer mid palate than Maker’s

• A more expressive grain signature than Weller

• A more cohesive sweetness than Van Winkle at similar proof

• A smoother, more integrated profile than E.H. Taylor Small Batch

Hartman’s isn’t competing with these brands — it’s demonstrating what happens when a distillery leans fully into wheat as a flavor driver rather than a stylistic label.

The Non Obvious Insight

High wheat bourbons reveal something important about American whiskey: grain matters as much as age. A well designed mash bill can outperform a longer aged bourbon if the grain composition is allowed to shine. Hartman’s BiB proves that wheat, when used boldly, can create a whiskey that is both structurally sound and sensorially luxurious — a bourbon that feels familiar yet distinctly new.

This is the future of wheated bourbon: not softer, but deeper. Not sweeter, but more expressive. Not merely “smooth,” but architecturally balanced.

Hartman’s has delivered a bourbon whiskey that shows what high wheat bourbon can be when treated with respect, patience, and intention — and it stands as one of the most compelling Bottled in Bond releases in recent memory and at just below $50.00 a bottle (at Addy's).

Conclusion: Thanks for joining me on this whiskey deep dive!

Whether as a beginner discovering new flavors or an aficionado pursuing perfection, the journey always has another fascinating glass to offer.

Join me at The Buffalo Distilling Company for a Deluxe Tour and Tasting or Whiskey Workshop by signing up on my website to experience a Buffalo-made bourbon firsthand.

Special shout out to the BDC for the use of their distillery for tours, tastings and the Whiskey Workshop.

Again, Please leave questions or comments on my website at bisonbourbonspiritstc.com, that’s b i s o n b o u r b o n s p i r i t s t c.com

Disclaimer: This podcast provides general information and entertainment. Always drink responsibly, and consult local regulations before imbibing. This podcasts is meant for listeners who are of legal drinking age only.

I’ll be back next time with another deep dive. Until then, check out the blog, explore the merchandise, and join me for a workshop or tasting at Buffalo Distilling Company.

Until the next podcast or blog, keep sipping, keep exploring, and remember: good whiskey is like a well-crafted story. Do you “Love Bourbon & B.S.? Tell a friend.

I am trying to grow this thing the old fashioned way—one honest pour and one honest listener at a time.”

Cheers to Bold Spirits and Curious Minds!

I have received many questions about what outlets are carrying this product. I stumbled over it at ADDY's in Williamville. Apparently the big boiys don't want to add it to the growing list of allocated bourbons that are now appearing at reduced prices that no one is buying. Screw allocation, big distillers and large retailers that wouldn't know a good product if it hit them in the face.

Here is the list I got from Hartman's:

Erie County:

Hartman's Distillery

Addy's Fine Wine and Spirits, Amherst

Crosspoint Wine & Spirits, Getzville

Grand Island Wine & Spirits, Grand Island

Cordially Yours, Depew

Convenient Wine & Spirits, Hamburg

Niagara County:

Supermarket Wine & Spirits, Niagara Falls

Grand Wine & Spirits, Lockport