Located in Covington, Kentucky, Wenzel Distillery is likely an unknown name to most whiskey enthusiasts. Wenzel currently offers a unique experience where visitors can taste and blend their own whiskey from stock sourced from Kentucky, Louisiana, and Indiana. At the moment, Wenzel operates as a rectifier of whiskey, but in 2022, Wenzel acquired distilling equipment assets and inventory of aged spirits from Savannah, Georgia-based Ghost Coast Distillery, which shuttered in September of 2o22. Shortly after, the Covington operation joined the Kentucky Distiller’s Association as a craft member in 2023. The small operation is not yet a household name, but made big waves in February of 2025 when Wenzel Distillery Straight Bourbon Finished in Sherry Casks was awarded the designation of World’s Best Finished Bourbon at the 2025 World Whiskies Awards.
Highly awarded by the World Whiskies Awards, the bourbon is the result of the acquired whiskey inventory from Ghost Coast. The Georgia bourbon features a mashbill of 66% corn, 21% rye, and 13% malted barley. Ghost Coast utilized a 500 gallon Vendome hybrid pot still. Prior to finishing, the bourbon matured for 4 years in barrels coopered by Kelvin Cooperage with a #4 barrel char before entering oloroso sherry barrels for just over 3 years. The barrels spent around 5 years in Georgia and around 2 years in Kentucky for a total age in excess of 7 years.
Kentucky garners most of the acclaim surrounding bourbon, but a Kentucky rectifier took home a big award with Georgia bourbon. We were told that the Devil went down to Georgia to win a fiddling content, but was whiskey the ulterior motive? Let’s find out!
The sherry cask bourbon opens with the nostalgic aroma of dusty corn, evoking the scent of an old rickhouse. Sweet notes of dense strawberry jam follow, adding an intense fruitiness that contrasts beautifully with the deeper tones. Layers of dark chocolate surface, lending a velvety richness, while dark brown sugar rounds out the profile. Leading the way on the palate, there’s a burst of strawberry hard candy, delivering a bright, sugary sweetness that quickly deepens into rich currants. Floral undertones weave through the sip, adding a delicate, almost perfumed elegance. Juicy cantaloupe soon appears midpalate, offering a refreshing contrast to the darker fruit notes. However, while the palate opens with intense sweetness, the heat is unexpectedly intense for its 109 proof, leading to some mild distraction that somewhat overshadows the enjoyable profile. The finish is long and dynamic, beginning with a creamy note of milk chocolate that quickly gives way to a warming kick of black pepper. Toasted walnuts add a nutty depth, bringing a slight bitterness that balances the sweetness. Just when it seems to fade, a final echo of strawberry hard candy resurfaces, leaving a subtly sweet and fruity impression on the palate.
Is this the best finished bourbon out there? No. But is it very good? Without question. This is the kind of bottle I’d gladly keep in my rotation — rich, flavorful, and well-crafted. The heat is a bit more aggressive than expected for 109 proof, but it doesn’t overshadow the whiskey’s strengths. I do a feel a bit bad for the Devil, losing a fiddle contest in Georgia was bad enough — but realizing all of Ghost Coast’s sherry cask barrels left the state? That’s just adding insult to injury.
109 proof.
A- / $109 / wenzelwhiskey.com
Wenzel Sherry Cask Bourbon
$109
