Monday bourbon review

Monday Bourbon Review

Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bottled-in-Bond

6 Years Old • 100 Proof • Missouri

Some bourbons walk into the room kicking down the door.

Others just pull up an old wooden chair on the porch, light a cigar, and wait for you to figure out they’ve got a story worth hearing.

This week’s bottle is Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bottled-in-Bond, and brother… it’s one of those storytellers.

There’s something about wheated bourbon that reminds me of old Southern churches and forgotten farmhouses. The loud ones get all the attention. The quiet ones are usually carrying the deepest scars.

The Nose

The first sip starts before it ever reaches your lips.

Warm caramel.

Vanilla.

Fresh baked bread.

A little honey.

Old oak that’s seen more winters than most of us have birthdays.

It smells like somebody’s grandmother just pulled dessert out of the oven while your grandfather was outside splitting firewood.

The Taste

This is where Holladay earns its keep.

Soft.

Creamy.

Brown sugar, vanilla custard, toasted wheat, buttered biscuits, caramel, and just enough cinnamon to remind you this isn’t dessert.

At 100 proof it has enough backbone to stand up for itself, but it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to prove anything.

That’s confidence.

Not arrogance.

The Finish

The sweetness slowly gives way to seasoned oak and a gentle pepper note that lingers just long enough to make you reach for another sip.

It doesn’t disappear.

It hangs around like an old hunting story you’ve heard a hundred times but still stop to listen to every fall.

Final Thoughts

I’ve learned something over the years.

The loudest bourbon isn’t always the best bourbon.

Neither are the loudest people.

Sometimes the best things in life don’t announce themselves. They simply show up, do exactly what they’re supposed to do, and leave you wondering why they don’t get talked about more.

This bourbon feels like an old country road after sunset.

Quiet.

Honest.

A little haunted.

The kind of place where your ghosts walk beside you for a while before finally deciding you’ve carried them long enough.

The Porch Test

Would I buy another bottle?

Without hesitation.

This is a shelf staple.

Not because it’s trendy.

Because it’s dependable.

Would I share it with a friend?

I’d pour it before they even sat down. This is conversation bourbon. The kind of pour that turns strangers into old friends and old friends into brothers.

Would I share it with an enemy?

Yeah…

Life’s too damn short to waste good bourbon on hate. I’d pour them a glass, let the whiskey do the talking, and maybe we’d both leave a little lighter than we arrived.

Final Score

8.6/ 10

Some bourbons chase perfection.

This one chases honesty.

And somewhere along the back roads of Missouri, between old brick warehouses and weathered oak barrels, Holladay bottled something that’s becoming harder and harder to find these days.

Character.