Its a New Year and a New Dawn! Join Us as We Try New Dawn 10yr Wheated Whiskey! Made with Intention!

Behind the Pour

New Dawn Distilling is Black-owned and woman-owned, founded by Dawn O'Neal in New York and built grain to glass with deliberate intention. Crystal and Roger reviewed Dawn's 6-year Bourbon earlier in the channel's history — they liked it so much that when the 10-Year Wheated Whiskey appeared, they came back. The 2025 episode is the follow-up that delivers on that promise, and the 10-year expression delivers on its.

What You'll Discover

• What makes a wheated whiskey: In most bourbon production, rye is the secondary grain after corn — it provides spice and structure. Wheated bourbon (and wheated whiskey more broadly) substitutes wheat for rye, producing a softer, sweeter, rounder profile. New Dawn's 10-Year has had a decade to let that wheat character develop.
• Grain to glass from New York: New Dawn distills its own spirit rather than sourcing, which means the production decisions — grain sourcing, fermentation, distillation, and aging — reflect Dawn O'Neal's specific vision rather than a purchased commodity. That is a meaningful distinction Crystal emphasizes.
• 10 years of patience: A 10-year age statement on an American whiskey at this production scale represents a significant commitment. The spirit was distilled years before the brand had the profile it has now, which means the aging plan preceded the audience.
• The color: Crystal and Roger both note the mahogany dark color of the pour — a signal of significant barrel extraction over the decade of aging. New York climate creates more aggressive barrel cycling than Kentucky, which means faster extraction and a different flavor profile per year of aging.
• Dawn O'Neal's place in the Black-owned distilling conversation: New Dawn is one of the brands that Crystal and Roger have returned to as a reference point for what Black-owned, woman-owned craft distilling can achieve at the highest quality level.

A Moment of Pourspective

Patience in distilling is not passive. Every year that whiskey sits in the barrel is a year of decisions that were made right before it went in — the grain, the cut, the barrel entry proof, the warehouse. A 10-year expression is proof of faith in decisions made a decade ago.

Explore the Conversation

The New Dawn 10-Year episode is brief (12 minutes) but specifically focused — Crystal and Roger are returning to a brand they already know and love, which means the conversation skips the introduction and goes directly to the comparison. How does the 10-year wheated expression differ from the 6-year bourbon they reviewed previously? The answer is in the color, the texture, and the way the wheat grain character has developed over additional time. The New York aging climate discussion is the episode's most educational segment. Crystal explains that New York's temperature swings — colder winters, hotter summers than Kentucky — drive more aggressive barrel cycling, which means a New York whiskey may show more barrel influence per year of aging than a comparable Kentucky expression. The 10-year color is evidence of that. Dawn O'Neal's model of grain-to-glass distilling in New York, as a Black woman founder, is one of TLC's most consistent reference points for what authentic ownership in spirits looks like. The return to the brand is an endorsement that speaks louder than most reviews.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is New Dawn Distilling? New Dawn Distilling is a Black-owned, woman-owned craft distillery founded by Dawn O'Neal in New York. They produce grain-to-glass spirits with an emphasis on intentional, quality-first production.
• What is a wheated whiskey? A wheated whiskey uses wheat as the secondary grain rather than rye. The result is typically softer, sweeter, and rounder than rye-heavy expressions. Famous wheated bourbons include W.L. Weller and Pappy Van Winkle.
• Where can I order New Dawn? Online at newdawndistilling.com with availability in New York state and expanding nationally.
• How is New York aging different from Kentucky? New York's climate features more extreme temperature cycles — colder winters and hotter summers than the Kentucky average — which drives more aggressive barrel expansion and contraction. This creates more intensive barrel extraction per year of aging than the more temperate Kentucky climate.

Episode at a Glance

• Spirit reviewed: New Dawn Distilling 10-Year Wheated Whiskey
• Hosts: Crystal and Roger
• Runtime: 12 minutes, 26 seconds
• Category: Bourbon
• Notable: Black-owned, woman-owned, grain-to-glass, New York distilled, follow-up to earlier 6-year review