Old Emmer Cask Strength by Total Wine

Total Wine | 119 Proof | NAS

Old Emmer is an ancient Egyptian wheat strain not normally used in modern culture. If Emmer wheat sounds familiar to you, that’s probably because you have heard of Buffalo Trace Distillery release of Daniel Weller who also utilizes the emmer wheat strain. Considering this bottle does not specify a distiller, but BT recently released a similar grain bottle, makes me connect dots.

Nose:  I immediately got orange Julius. Orange peel with a sweet vanilla crème… actually maybe its mango. Eh same thing. Second sniff gives me some of that bready wheat that was bound to show up.

Palate: Meh, ehh, mehhhh…. Do I like this? Its soft up front as you would expect from a wheater but then you get smacked with proof. It’s earthy, and toasty, then vanilla sweet, and then grainy. I love one sip, then get burnt on the next. Inconsistency seems to be the theme here.

Finish: The finish is good. Its a tad harsh for a wheater, but not bad for a 120 proofer. The grain notes are still there and so is the ethanol, but so is the wheat softness and vanilla sweetness.

Conclusion: Overall, its an average whiskey. Its not great. Its also not supposed to be. Its a $50 bottle, priced accordingly and it gives you EXACTLY what youd expect from a $50 bottle priced at a big box store. The grain is a marketing ploy, but I also wouldn’t be ashamed to gift this bottle to a friend. I would say, if you see the bottle snd have $50 burning a hole in your pocket, buy this bottle and enjoy it.

Old Emmer Cask Strength by Total Wine