Weller 12 yo The Original Wheated Bourbon

 

 

 

45°

Distillery : Buffalo Trace -Kentucky

New Charred American White Oak Barrels

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Straight Bourbon Whiskey 

Launched in 2000

Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

In the 19th century, William Larue Weller was a whiskey maker who first came up with the idea of replacing rye with wheat in Bourbon mashbill. The cereal mainly used remains corn, otherwise it is not Bourbon, but wheat is the 2nd cereal, up to 15-20%. It is more or less this recipe that was used in the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery, opened in 1935 and closed in 1992, led by the famous Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, who however never distilled a single Barrel by himself. The Weller name was acquired by the Sazerac company in 1999, and they immediately used it to launch the Weller 12 yo (or WL Weller 12 yo, the name changes on the label depending on the year), the first Batches of which contain juice distilled in Stitzel-Weller. Subsequently, the distillery used was Bernheim, then, from 2011, Buffalo Trace, one of the oldest on the continent. The Weller 12 yo remains an element of the distillery's Core Range, but the public's enthusiasm is such that each Batch is sold out in a blink of an eye.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is very interesting, so original that I can hardly describe it, vanilla and cloves, honey and dry earth, shovelfuls of hay, rye and wheat, a drop of molasses, syrupy at times, caramel coming out of the pan. It's very grainy, and both velvety and mellow, but you can also smell the bitterness of braised wood, resin, and perhaps chestnut cream. After that, the palate is a little weak, grilled corn, grains of rice, and still quite spicy. The finish is not bad, quite long, relatively solid, on elderberry and shortbread biscuit. White chocolate. Millet.

 

In Short, 

A captivating nose, really original, but then a bit flat and watery mouth. It's O.K. for an everyday dram, but the incredible hype around this thing made me expect better. The outlet price is very affordable actually, but it is sold out within minutes, and the secondary market prices are delusional, so if you can't find it at the outlet price, like 99,99% of the pupulation, I suggest you forget it.

Score : 86

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Jackie Venson - Rollin'on