1792 Wheated Full Proof & Evan Williams First Run: New COLAs Signal Two Very Different Releases

Two approvals landed on May 28, 2026, and they're worth a close look: one is a new expression that quietly fills a gap in an established lineup, the other is a documentary bottling tied to a specific moment in distillery history.

1792 Wheated Full Proof

Barton 1792 Distillery has been steadily building out its expression portfolio, and this filing suggests the next logical step: a wheated mash bill taken to full proof. The label reads "Wheated Full Proof" — Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, distilled and bottled at Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, KY, and filed in a 375ml format. The filing lists 62.5% ABV (125 proof), which mirrors the spec of the existing 1792 Full Proof — though as a COLA proof that figure should be treated as tentative until an official release confirms it. Notably, "Full Proof" in 1792's own marketing language means the bourbon is bottled at barrel entry proof and forgoes chill filtration, so the name itself signals the style even before release.

For context: 1792 Sweet Wheat already runs a wheat-forward mash bill at a more approachable 91.2 proof, and the standard 1792 Full Proof showcases the distillery's higher-rye recipe at the same 125-proof spec. Wheated Full Proof would occupy a genuinely new slot in the lineup — the wheated grain bill with nothing held back on strength — and the half-bottle format hints at either a limited allocation play or a retailer-exclusive test run. No official announcement has surfaced yet; this filing is the first public signal.

Evan Williams First Run

This one tells its own story directly on the label. Evan Williams First Run is a 12-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon drawn from exactly 20 barrels — the very first barrels filled at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience's artisanal distillery on Louisville's Whiskey Row. The back label gives precise barrel dates: 12/28/13–1/31/14, putting fill dates squarely in the weeks immediately following EWBE's public opening on November 15, 2013. Planned bottling date is listed as 9/1/26, and the spirit was distilled in Kentucky and bottled by Old Evan Williams Distillery in Bardstown. The label lists 56.5% ABV (113 proof) — treat that as provisional until confirmed, per standard COLA caveats.

Heaven Hill has form here: for EWBE's 10th anniversary in 2023, they released a 2013-vintage bottling at 110 proof. First Run is a distinct and even more specific proposition — described on the label as "personally selected by our Artisanal Distiller," it leans into provenance rather than anniversaries. Twenty barrels is a tiny yield; if this reaches retail at all, it will likely be a distillery-exclusive or very tightly allocated release. The "artisanal distillery" stamp on the front and the copper still illustration reinforce that this is meant to be read as the origin story of EWBE in liquid form.

---

Two different ambitions from two Bardstown-adjacent operations: one a lineup extension that slots neatly into an existing portfolio framework, the other a single-chapter archive bottling that can never be repeated.