The Whiskey Trip - Season 3, Episode 21 - Bill Whitlow - Wenzel Whiskey

The Bourbon Life

This week on The Whiskey Trip, Big Chief barrels into Northern Kentucky—a land where whiskey history runs thicker than molasses and the ghosts of rectifiers past still linger in the mash.

He sits down with Bill Whitlow of Wenzel Whiskey, housed in a restored 1873 brick beauty that’s equal parts heritage and hustle. Together, they toast to the long-overlooked rectifiers—those scrappy, bootleg-era blenders who kept the whiskey flowing when times were rough and barrels were rougher.

First up: Wenzel’s Sherry-Finished Bourbon. Aged four years, then wooed for three more in Oloroso casks, this 109-proof sipper hits with coffee liqueur, dark chocolate, and dried fruit that could charm a priest into sin.

Then comes their four-grain wheated bourbon—65% corn, oats, wheat, and barley—with a 112.4 proof kick. It smells like breakfast in heaven (toast, honey, butterscotch) and finishes like dessert with a twist of lemon and a slap of white pepper.

Finally, they light the fuse with the Rectifier’s Rye—three 7+ year barrels of 95/5 rye, bottled at 114.4 proof. It’s hot, sticky, and spiced like a love letter from the devil. Think hot honey, oak, molasses, and a finish of black licorice that hangs around longer than your in-laws.

This episode is a whiskey-fueled nod to history’s hidden heroes—and a damn good time.

Pour a glass. Buckle up. This is The Whiskey Trip.