Pour Maker's Mark and Old Grand-Dad side by side and you'd be forgiven for thinking they were different spirits entirely. One is soft, round, and dessert-sweet; the other is peppery, dry, and built like a cocktail's backbone. Both are Kentucky straight bourbon. Both are mostly corn. The entire difference comes down to a single supporting grain—and knowing which one you prefer is the fastest shortcut to buying bourbon you'll actually love.
The grain that decides everything
By law, bourbon must be at least 51% corn, which supplies the base sweetness every bourbon shares. But the rest of the recipe—the ‘mash bill’—usually includes a secondary or ‘flavouring’ grain, plus a little malted barley for fermentation. That secondary grain is nearly always one of two things: rye or wheat. Which one, and how much, defines the bottle's personality.
Wheated bourbon: soft, sweet, and gentle
Swap the rye for wheat and bourbon mellows dramatically. Wheat contributes almost no spice of its own, so the corn's sweetness and the barrel's vanilla and caramel step forward. The result is round, bready, and easy—think caramel, honey, soft baking spice, and a gentle finish.
This is the style behind the most hyped whiskey on earth: Pappy Van Winkle and the Weller line are wheated, as is Maker's Mark. Wheaters tend to be crowd-pleasers and superb entry points—though, as we found tasting the category, the great ones (cask-strength Larceny, older Maker's expressions) prove ‘soft’ doesn't have to mean ‘simple.’
High-rye bourbon: spicy, bold, and structured
Push the rye content up (roughly 20–35% of the mash bill) and bourbon gains backbone: black pepper, cinnamon, baking spice, mint, and a dry, structured finish. High-rye bourbons feel more energetic and stand up beautifully in cocktails, where that spice cuts through sugar and bitters.
Four Roses' recipes, Old Grand-Dad, Bulleit, and Wild Turkey lean this way. When we build an Old Fashioned, a high-rye bourbon is almost always the pour—the spice gives the drink a spine that a soft wheater can't.
So which one is for you?
Simple rule of thumb from our tasting notes: if you gravitate toward sweet, smooth, and easy, start wheated. If you like spice, structure, and a bourbon that fights back a little, go high-rye. Most serious drinkers end up keeping one of each—a wheater for neat sipping and a high-rye for cocktails. There's no wrong answer, only the grain your palate prefers.
Our take: for pure sipping pleasure we reach wheated more often—there's a comfort to that soft caramel roundness. But the bottle that gets used the most on our bar is a high-rye, because it makes better cocktails. Buy one of each under $40 and you've covered 90% of what bourbon can do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between wheated and high-rye bourbon?
Both are at least 51% corn; the difference is the secondary grain. Wheated bourbon uses wheat, which makes it soft, sweet, and gentle. High-rye bourbon uses more rye, which makes it spicy, peppery, and structured.
Is Maker's Mark a wheated bourbon?
Yes. Maker's Mark uses red winter wheat as its secondary grain, which is why it tastes soft and sweet. Note that it uses its own recipe—it is not the same mash bill as Pappy Van Winkle or Weller, which are wheated bourbons from Buffalo Trace.
Which is better for cocktails, wheated or high-rye bourbon?
High-rye bourbon is usually the better cocktail choice. Its pepper and baking spice cut through the sugar and bitters in drinks like an Old Fashioned, giving the cocktail structure that a softer wheated bourbon can lack.
Is all bourbon either wheated or high-rye?
No. Many bourbons use a 'traditional' or low-rye mash bill that sits between the two extremes. Wheated and high-rye are simply the two ends of the flavour spectrum, and the easiest way to describe a bourbon's style.