Weller 12

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Weller 12 is a wheated bourbon produced by Buffalo Trace. For a few years now it has been victimized by taters the world over who viewed is “basically pappy”, or worse, used to blend their own cocktail of bourbons in hopes of creating “pour man’s pappy”. If only they had chanced a taste of Pappy they may have realized the error of their ways and spent their time on more constructive things, like buying a bottle of ECBP. Unfortunately the hype train appears to be powered by a perpetual motion machine: hype begets scarcity, and scarcity begets hype. Ultimately the demand for this stuff is so high that it is almost impossible to find, let alone at retail. Could it really be worth the chase, for something Buffalo Trace deemed to be worth a measly $30? Lets see what it’s all about.

This review was done blind in a set of 21 blind bourbon (and rye) reviews, tasted in sets of 3 (on different days). None of the whiskies were revealed until all 21 were drunk. More information about this setup in the first review of the series.

1. Old Forester 1920
2. Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2017
3. Four Roses Single Barrel OESK (Brookline Liquor Mart pick)
4. Kentucky Owl Rye (batch 1)
5. Weller Antique 107
6. Rowan's Creek
7. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof #12 (136 proof)
8. Old Forester Statesman
9. Michter's 10yo Bourbon
10. Henry McKenna 10yo BiB
11. Weller 12
12. Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo
13. Rhetoric 23
14. George T. Stagg 2017
15. Four Roses Single Barrel OBSV (Loch & Key Pick)
16. Maker's 46
17. Jack Daniels Single Barrel Bottled in Bond
18. Little Book “The Easy” (2017)

Distiller: Buffalo Trace
ABV: 45%
Age: 12yo
Setting: Blind in a trio with Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo and Henry McKenna 10yo BiB

Nose: Funky vanilla, old dried herbs, leather, seasoned wood. An interesting eucalypt buttery funk, dirty socks. Brown sugar and oak. Almost rummy in some ways.
Palate: Light and super herbal, a weird mouth coating buttery funk that reminds me of diacetyl in the beer world.
Finish: Eucalypt, funky cheese, old butter, proofed sourdough, caramel fudge. Quite a long finish for what I perceive to be a low proof bourbon.
Overall: This was one funky ass bourbon, it’s like mouldy butter and cheese dipped in popcorn butter and caramel. It actually is starting to grown on me a bit but I’m not afraid to say I wasn’t super impressed on the first smell. But it sure is interesting.
Guess: This one I have not a damn clue on. it has a really pungent funk that I really feel like a should be able to place, but I just can’t. Not a clue. I’ll take wild stab at one of the Wild Turkeys Master’s Keep’s. I’ll be disappointed if I’m right, but hey, that’s the whole point of tasting blind isn’t it. I thought I liked those way more than a 5.
Rank: 5
Reveal: The thought never crossed my mind that this was Weller 12, and it’s beginning to be obvious that I no longer find it easy to detect wheat in bourbon (once upon a time I thought I could do that). And Master’s Keep? What the hell was I thinking, this is not on the same planet as Wild Turkey. Oh well.