Town Branch Distillery, the 7th member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and the heart of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.—releases its Town Branch 6yr Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey this week at the distillery and available in markets nationwide (SRP $49.99 / 750ml).
In recent years, Town Branch has continued shaping its portfolio around bourbon, bourbon-based, and bourbon-inspired offerings as a proud member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Rooted in Lexington, Kentucky — a city whose bourbon heritage dates back to the earliest days of America’s native spirit — the distillery’s newest release proudly continues that tradition.
Introducing Town Branch 6-Year Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon. This release has been years in the making. In fact, the distillery waited eight long years before introducing a whiskey worthy of joining this coveted category. But while the team patiently anticipated a standalone wheated bourbon release, they also carved their own path toward getting there.
“We realized this whiskey was going to be something very special when we tasted it at six years old, which for us is a sweet spot for our other bourbon mash bills,” said Dave Bob Gaspar, Head Distiller and Blender. “I like to say we waited patiently, but in reality, we could hardly help ourselves, so we found creative ways to distract ourselves for a couple more years.”
By 2024, the distillery’s wheated bourbon stocks had reached six years of age, and the team was eager to enter the category with a dedicated expression. However, releasing it at that moment would have limited the flexibility needed to build a proper blending range across multiple ages. So instead, the team devised a plan: introduce the mash bill through a series of blending projects and immersive distillery experiences that would offer consumers and visitors an early glimpse of what was to come.
In September 2024, Town Branch launched two new whiskey expressions in celebration of Bourbon Heritage Month. The first was Town Branch Overproof Kentucky Straight Whiskey — a 104 proof blended American whiskey crafted from four styles of Kentucky Straight Whiskey. The blend ultimately consisted of 90% bourbon and 10% rye, including 10% wheated bourbon, delivering a profile that drinks like a high-rye bourbon. Later that month, the distillery released its highly limited annual expression, Town Branch Imperium MMXXIV Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Bottled at 96 proof, the blend featured only the best of the best hand-selected barrels and incorporated 50% wheated bourbon barrels into the final composition.
In 2025, the distillery expanded the experience even further by introducing two new Kentucky Bourbon Trail® offerings for guests. The Straight-From-The-Barrel Experience (30 minutes / $30 per person) allows visitors to sample three single-barrel expressions directly from the barrel, including the wheated bourbon mash bill. Meanwhile, the Town Branch Barrel Thieving & Cocktail Experience (1 hour / $50 per person) gives guests the opportunity to thief wheated bourbon at cask strength before crafting an Overproof Old Fashioned using the whiskey.
Now, in 2026, with a fully developed blending range of wheated bourbons aged up to eight years currently, the distillery’s vision has finally become reality. Town Branch 6-Year Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon is crafted from bourbon aged a minimum of six years, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 99 proof.
Starting this week, guests visiting the distillery can enjoy complimentary samples of the newest addition to the Town Branch lineup. In addition, the distillery team has selected a special 8-year wheated bourbon for its Fill Your Own Bottle Experience, allowing guests to take home an older, cask-strength, hand-bottled version of the whiskey. Bottle engraving is also available for a small additional fee to truly commemorate the moment. Look for availability on this item to hit shelves in May and June at retailers, bars and restaurants nationwide.