When it comes to bourbon, shelves are groaning under the weight of bottles that all promise 'rich caramel,' 'smooth vanilla,' and a 'hint of spice.' This is the standard bourbon dating profile, and honestly, it’s getting stale. So, when a distillery like Finger Lakes Distilling (FLD) in upstate New York decides to throw its hat in the ring, you have to ask: what makes you so special? The answer isn't some mythical water source or a family secret whispered down through generations of grizzled moonshiners. They aren't descended from distillers. They are the first generation, and they're okay with that. What you're drinking is a clean break, not a dusty continuation. Their product is designed for a single purpose: to taste great.
It’s about the grain and the goo. Specifically, their mashbills and their yeast. If you’re a bourbon lover who just wants to drink the stuff without needing a chemistry degree, stick around. We’re going to break down what FLD is doing, why it matters, and how it translates to the liquid in your glass. You won’t find notes of ‘your high school crush’ or ‘a leather-bound regret’ here. Just corn, yeast, time, and wood. Let’s call it what it is.
The mashbill is just the recipe of grains used to make whiskey. For bourbon, it has to be at least 51% corn. After that, it’s a free-for-all. Most distilleries stick to a simple corn-rye-barley or corn-wheat-barley formula. It’s safe. It’s predictable.
Finger Lakes Distilling, however, seems to enjoy making things complicated for themselves. They pride themselves on using New York-grown grains, which already gives them a different starting point. This commitment to local, high-quality grain is part of the quiet flex: The loudest distilleries are usually overcompensating. We prefer to let the three-year process speak for itself. But it’s their specific recipes that are worth a look.
This is their flagship, and it looks pretty standard on the surface. The mashbill is 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. That 20% rye is a respectable amount, putting it in the “high-rye” category. This means you should expect more than just sweet corn notes. The rye brings the spice—think black pepper, cinnamon, and that zesty kick that keeps a bourbon from being cloyingly sweet. It’s a solid, spicy bourbon designed to give you that classic profile with a little extra
Here’s where it gets interesting. FLD swaps out the rye for wheat. The mashbill is 70% corn, 20% wheat, and 10% malted barley. This is a “wheater.” Wheat is the gentle cousin to rye’s aggressive spice. It provides a softer, sweeter character, often with notes of bread, honey, and fruit. By keeping the corn percentage the same but changing the secondary grain, they create a completely different bourbon experience. One is spicy and bold; the other is soft and smooth. They’re playing with the variables, and it pays off.
This one is for the indecisive. It’s a four-grain bourbon: 70% corn, 10% rye, 10% wheat, and 10% malted barley. Why choose when you can have it all? The result is a balanced act. You get the sweetness from the corn, a little spice from the rye, a soft fruitiness from the wheat, and the enzymatic power of the malted barley holding it all together. It’s a complex, “best of all worlds” approach that you don’t see every day.
Now for the main event: yeast. If the mashbill is the script, yeast is the actor that brings it to life. This single-celled organism is responsible for eating sugar and creating alcohol. It also creates a massive array of other compounds called congeners, which are the building blocks of flavor. Distilleries guard their yeast strains like state secrets. Some have used the same strain for over a century.
So, what’s the secret with Finger Lakes Distilling yeast? They don’t have one.
Well, that’s not entirely true. While many distilleries use a proprietary, single strain of yeast to ensure absolute consistency, FLD takes a more… rustic approach. They use what’s known as “open-top” fermentation. This means the tanks where the mash ferments are open to the air.
Why does this matter? Because the air is full of wild yeast and other microorganisms. While they pitch a primary yeast strain to get the job done, these open tops allow for a bit of environmental funk to join the party. It’s a controlled chaos. This method can introduce subtle, unique flavors that you wouldn’t get in a hermetically sealed, stainless-steel tank. It’s less about a specific strain and more about an environmental process that adds layers of complexity. In interviews, the FLD team has emphasized this: they don’t buy a flavor profile; they make one, letting the unique upstate New York air contribute to the finished product.
This process explains why their spirits often have unique undertones. You might get earthy notes, a subtle fruitiness, or a bready quality that you can’t quite place. That’s the wild yeast doing its thing, adding a signature that can’t be replicated in a lab. It’s a bit old-school and a bit risky, but it results in a spirit with undeniable character.
So, you have spicy rye bourbons, soft wheated bourbons, and complex four-grains, all fermented in open-air tanks. How do you know which one you’ll actually like without buying a dozen bottles?
Your palate is unique. What you taste as “subtle earthiness,” another might perceive as “delicious notes of barn.” That’s where an app like OAKR comes in. OAKR is a bourbon sommelier app that does the heavy lifting for you. We aggregate tasting notes and flavor data from blind tasting panelists to create detailed flavor profiles for hundreds of spirits (soon to be thousands but we have some work to do there).
Instead of guessing, you can pop open the OAKR app and see what the consensus is on McKenzie Bottled-in-Bond. Is it more floral or fruity? How intense is the oak? The app can help you explore in-depth flavor profiles and even give you personalized recommendations based on what you already know you love. It cuts through the marketing fluff and gives you data-driven insights, helping you find your next favorite bottle with confidence.
Finger Lakes Distilling stands out not because of some grand, over-the-top story, but because of deliberate, thoughtful choices in their mashbills and a brave, old-world approach to fermentation. They show that by tweaking the grain and letting the yeast run a little wild, you can create something truly unique in a crowded market.
Login to OAKR for spirit profile flavor data, create your own lists and customize your palate to get custom somm recommendations on whiskey you’ll love.
