Weller 12 Year - Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
$40
Weller 12 Year – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 90
Age: NAS
Distillery: Buffalo Trace (Sazerac Co)
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Mash: Unknown Percentages. Corn, Wheat, & Barley
Website: Buffalo Trace – W.L Weller
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: Musty Oak, Leather, Sweet Cherries, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, & Crème Brule.
Taste/Palate: Incredibly Timid. There’s almost zero heat. It starts off with the mature notes; Leather and Oak followed by Tobacco and Vanilla. The mature and sweet notes then roll into fruit notes; Cherries, and Apricot.
Finish: There’s slight a bit of heat that shows up, but it’s overshadowed by the mature notes of Leather and Oak. Caramel, Vanilla, and Custard linger on the tongue for quite some time with mild Cinnamon spice and Sweet Cherries rounding everything out.
Verdict: There’s a common theme with my verdict when it comes to the Weller line. If it’s available for MSRP its well worth it. Weller is known as “poor mans Pappy”, and I can see why. They share the same Wheated Mash Bill and even the rail version of Special Reserve brings maturity with it. The entire Weller line is well balanced and brings something different to the table.
MSRP: Must Buy (but please don’t hoard!). Price Ceiling: $150 (The most I’d pay for this bottle)
The Story:
Why did I add the Price Ceiling in the Verdict section??
I’ve been asked “what’s the most you’ll pay for Weller 107 since you like it so much”? “Is it Worth more than MSRP”? “Where do you draw the line”?
This is a very tough question that I don’t like to answer. Why? I do NOT want to prop up secondary markets. I’ve seen too many times where a liquor store will put out some great, sought after bottles, at a reasonable price and one person comes in and buys the lot of bottles and ruins it for everyone else. These bottles then either get put into some home bottle display museum or they pop up on Bourbon Secondary sites or Craigslist. In a couple cases the Bourbon scalper perpetrators were waiting in line in the liquor store with their score of bottles bragging about how much money they were going to make “flipping” these bottles.
Then I get the counter question. “It’s not just people these days, liquor stores are getting in on the secondary action and they are pocketing that additional money”. “How do I know if it’s worth it or where to draw the line”?
Ugh! Great Question. For this reason I’ll be adding in a section under the verdict that will give a ceiling on what I’d pay for this bottle given the impression that I didn’t have it and I really wanted the bottle. Let be honest, if you already have a bottle, you aren’t as motivated to pull out the Wallet.
The Distillery’s Story: The Weller name started when the Weller family migrated to the US and then moved to Kentucky in 1790. They started distilling in the 1700s and the distilling process was passed down generations to Samuel Weller and then to the well known name of William Larue Weller. William took the practice to the next level and in 1849 started the company W.L. Weller and Brothers. The name later was changed to W.L. Weller and Sons. Over the years the Weller brand gained in popularity and notoriety. W.L. Weller is commonly known as the pioneer to distilling with Wheat as the secondary grain vs Rye. The Wheat gives the dram a sweeter taste and softer mouthfeel. Rye gives you more spice.
Notably in 1893 the W.L. Weller & Sons company hired a sales person by the name of Julien “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr. in 1893 as a Whiskey sales person. Yes, Yes, that “Pappy Van Winkle”. In 1899 when William Larue Weller passed Julien “Pappy” and his coworker Alex purchased the company officially in 1908. The Weller family stayed on the company’s board as President but later parted ways in the 1930s when the company merged with A PH Stitzel Distillery. The merged brands began Stitzel-Weller Distillery in 1935. The Weller product line was carried on under the Stitzel-Weller Distillery and additional product lines, such as Pappy Van Winkle Began.
The Stitzel-Weller Distillery was sold in 1972 when Bourbon was in a bust market and getting passed over by other spirits. Many of the staple Stitzel-Weller products such as Weller & Old Fitzgerald were sold to Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill. For a period of time those brands were still selling the Stitzel Weller juice under the new ownership, but over time the brands now feature juice that was distilled and aged under their new ownership. Some say these brands are “just not the same as they used to be decades ago”, they would be right. But rebuttal is if you look back into the history of Bourbon, Brands, Distilleries, etc., you’ll see that there was a lot of Horse Trading between distilleries and brands, especially with Prohibition, brands were either required to shut down or shift to a facility that had special exemption. Regardless, the shifting of brands is NOT stopping the Bourbon masses from scooping these up as soon as they hit the shelves.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Solid. It hit all of what’s expected.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Reviewer: David S
Click Image for About Us Page