Ever since the debut of the Daniel Weller series, Buffalo Trace has made it clear the historic American distillery's passion for historic wheat recipes, delving into one of the most commonly used yet least explored and understood components of Bourbon making. The series itself pays tribute to the pioneering spirit of Daniel Weller, grandfather to legendary Bourbon figure William Larue Weller, and who had left Maryland on a long voyage that would take him to Kentucky where his family would help establish American whisky as we know it.
The first release of the Daniel Weller series saw the use of Emmer Wheat that originated from Egypt, with the second release saw the use of Spelt Wheat which comes from the central Alpine regions of Europe, and now for the third release, it appears that the focal point this time will be Kamut Wheat, which is said to hail from Iran, one of the world's oldest civilisation.
"In 1794 Daniel Weller, the grandfather of William Larue Weller, left Maryland and made the long voyage down the Ohio river. Daniel traveled with his wife and children, ultimately settling in Kentucky where he would continue the family tradition of distilling.
Our Kamut Wheat Recipe is inspired by Daniel and his pioneering spirit. Rarely seen in modern day stills, Kamut wheat is an ancient European grain known for its long history in traditional bread and farmhouse ales.
This bottle is a tribute to Daniel, the trail blazer of the Weller family."
With some digging, we learn that Kamut Wheat was originally called Khorasan Wheat, where it takes its name from the Iranian province of Khorasan, an ancient region which borders on Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. On appearance, Kamut wheat might look similar to common wheat, however, its grains are double the size of modern day wheat kernels and thus contains more proteins, lipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that common wheat - this gives Kamut wheat a distinctively richer, more buttery and nuttier flavour. It has also been established that in ancient times, Kamut wheat was widely traded across Central Asia and was even a major part of the Silk Road trade. Yet as the centuries went on, Kamut wheat would find itself largely lost to time. It wasn't until the mid-20th century that the ancient wheat was rediscovered and thus brought to the United States where it was cultivated and introduced by a farmer from Montana, T. Mack Quinn and his son, Bob. Today, Kamut Wheat remains a small fraction of all wheat grown, with less than 100,000 acres being farmed.
The new Daniel Weller Kamut Wheat Recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky is set to be bottled at 47% ABV (94 Proof).
Kanpai!
88 Bamboo Editorial Team
