u/Freedlun

Wheyward’s second offering is the un-aged Whey Spirit. No barrel, nothing but 100% Whey, so how’s it taste?

The aroma is sweet powdered candy (Smarties), bubblegum and the same sweet oil as the barrel-aged. The palate is lightly sweet, with a very faint grassiness. The finish is light and a bit on the short side, semisweet, a little dry, with a slight tingle.

I particularly enjoy New Make (un-aged) spirits, so I really liked this one. It’s great to see exactly what the Whey is offering without any outside influences. Though not many would sip this neat, it’s perfectly fine that way. It is most certainly intended for mixed drinks and cocktails and it tastes great in those.

All in all I was very impressed with Wheyward’s “Wheyskeys” and I’d like to get a full bottle one of these days. It’s tastes good and it’d be a great a great conversation pour.

Age: 0yr

Mashbill: 100% Whey

Casks: NA

ABV: 40%

Price: $55

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 70

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

🥃
NOSE: Powdered candy, bubblegum, sweet gear oil.
PALATE: Light sweetness, very faint grassiness.
FINISH: Light, semisweet, dry, faint tingle, short.

Guide to my personal ratings:
🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.
🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.
😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.
😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.
😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.
🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Wheyward is distilling a very unique spirit. It’s not distilled from grain, so not technically a Whiskey. Rather it is distilled from Whey, so it’s a “Wheyskey”. There’s an un-aged and a barrel-aged version. In this review I’ll be discussing the latter.

This has a lovely gentle sweet vanilla aroma with a little cocoa and a hint of sweet oil. It reminds of the gear oil my dad would use on our slot cars when I was a kid, so a bit of nostalgia for me. The palate is more creamy than oily, with sweet, candied vanilla dominating. The sweet creamy vanilla lingers on the finish with a touch of that sweet oil in the background.

This was surprisingly good for essentially being distilled from a byproduct of milk! Part of their focus is sustainability using Whey that would normally be a waste product from the cheese making process which is certainly commendable.

While this doesn’t have a very complex palate, it’s entirely enjoyable to sip neat. It also plays very nicely in cocktails and mixed drinks. If you’re looking for something unique to add to your collection, give it a try and let me know your thoughts.

Age: NAS

Mashbill: 100% Whey

Casks: Used Barrels

ABV: 40%

Price: $70

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 72

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

🥃
NOSE: Gentle, artificial vanilla, cocoa, sweet gear oil.
PALATE: Creamy, sweet, candied vanilla.
FINISH: Lingering, semisweet creamy vanilla, gear oil.

Guide to my personal ratings:
🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.
🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.
😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.
😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.
😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.
🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Our final review from the Mock One lineup is their Rum.

For this comparison we made an unblended Daiquiri with The Real McCoy 5yr and the Mock One.

The aroma on the Mock One is wonderful! Smoked wood, cane sugar and toasted marshmallows. The palate was thick with sweet lime. The sweetness lingered with a light char.

All three of us chose the Mock One over the actual Rum. This was the highlight of the lineup! In fact this is the only one that we enjoyed sipping neat with its sweet smoked character.

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 87

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Our final review from the Mock One lineup is their Rum.

For this comparison we made an unblended Daiquiri with The Real McCoy 5yr and the Mock One.

The aroma on the Mock One is wonderful! Smoked wood, cane sugar and toasted marshmallows. The palate was thick with sweet lime. The sweetness lingered with a light char.

All three of us chose the Mock One over the actual Rum. This was the highlight of the lineup! In fact this is the only one that we enjoyed sipping neat with its sweet smoked character.

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 87

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Our third review from Mock One is their Gin alternative.

For this comparison we made a simple Gin and Tonic using New Amsterdam and their other with Mock One.

The Mock One’s aroma was not as fresh or bright as the alcoholic version, but had a gentle sweet citrus aroma with a slightly dank note in the background. The palate was sweeter, with a light lime citrus as opposed to the alcoholic version which had more bitter grapefruit. The finish was less dry with a bit more sweet lime.

Two out of three preferred the Mock One. We have been consistently surprised at how well these preformed in cocktails, especially since the do not have much body or flavor when sipped neat. It’s a miracle of science. 😁

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 83

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

Our third review from Mock One is their Gin alternative.

For this comparison we made a simple Gin and Tonic using New Amsterdam and their other with Mock One.

The Mock One’s aroma was not as fresh or bright as the alcoholic version, but had a gentle sweet citrus aroma with a slightly dank note in the background. The palate was sweeter, with a light lime citrus as opposed to the alcoholic version which had more bitter grapefruit. The finish was less dry with a bit more sweet lime.

Two out of three preferred the Mock One. We have been consistently surprised at how well these preformed in cocktails, especially since the do not have much body or flavor when sipped neat. It’s a miracle of science. 😁

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 83

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

My second review in the Mock One lineup is their “Tequila”.

For this comparison we made a non-blended Margarita with Casa Mexico Blanco and the other with this Mock One.

The Mock One was surprisingly similar to the Margarita with Tequila. The aroma lacked a little of the depth, but was still very pleasant with light lime. The palate was decently thick with sweet lemon-lime. The finish was more enjoyable as the sweetness lingered without the slight bitterness on the Tequila version.

Though two out of the three tasters preferred the margarita made with Tequila, they still enjoyed the Mock One as well.

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 81

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

My second review in the Mock One lineup is their “Tequila”.

For this comparison we made a non-blended Margarita with Casa Mexico Blanco and the other with this Mock One.

The Mock One was surprisingly similar to the Margarita with Tequila. The aroma lacked a little of the depth, but was still very pleasant with light lime. The palate was decently thick with sweet lemon-lime. The finish was more enjoyable as the sweetness lingered without the slight bitterness on the Tequila version.

Though two out of the three tasters preferred the margarita made with Tequila, they still enjoyed the Mock One as well.

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 81

Tasting notes below. 👇🏼

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.

There have been a number of attempts at making non-alcoholic alternatives to Whiskey and other spirits, but this one caught my eye since it produced by an actual Distillery, Breckenridge in Colorado. So does their expertise in distilling help them to make a decent alternative to alcoholic spirits?

In the next few days I’ll be sharing my thoughts on their four non-alcoholic versions of Rum, Gin, Tequila and Whiskey.

We’ll start with the Whiskey. Since these are not intended to be drank neat I did my review by making an Old Fashioned with Mock One and the other with with Early Times Bourbon for comparison.

The aroma on the Mock One was more aromatic with a slight pine note. The palate was very similar if not just a little shorter. The finish was longer and sweeter.

All three of us doing this tasting chose the Mock One over the Bourbon Old Fashioned. In fact, of all the Mock spirits, this one presents the most similar to actual bourbon. Depending on the cocktail, it’s likely many wouldn’t even notice the difference!

ABV: <0.5%

Price: $30

Bottle provided by distillery for review.

My Rating: 85

Guide to my personal ratings:

🤢 0-49 = Varying degrees of undrinkable.

🫤 50-59 = Drinkable, but meh.

😊 60-69 = Fair. Not my cup of tea.

😃 70-79 = Good. Some nice elements.

😋 80-89 = Great! Interesting and very enjoyable.

🤩 90-100 = Amazing! The perfect pour. (Rare)

Sip. Rate. Repeat.