Hey, y’all!
I found this bottle at the liquor store in the little town in Georgia where I grew up, Washington.
Paid face value for it, $25.
So this is a treat.
Something that folks that know whiskey realize is pretty cool to have around and at a price that is also pretty cool.
So the backstory, what little I really know of it, goes a little something like this:
Folks like to think of the Weller line as some sort of junior Pappy because they both have been distilled and produced at the Buffalo Trace distillery and they are both wheated bourbons.
We can get into the backstory of how Weller used to be Pappy’s boss, wheated bourbons, and some of the other stuff later when I do some sort of Pappy special event or something.
To tonight’s bourbon we go.
The color really does show off the wheat. It is a really nice golden brown.
On the first sniff, I get a really strong alcohol hit, but the juice isn’t that strong as it is only 90 proof.
The first sip brings is very subtle, all things considered.
I get a lot of the wheat on the tongue, but not a lot of burn on the way down.
Because wheated bourbons typically use more corn in their mashbill, you tend to get a sweeter bourbon. In this case, that is definitely true. The Weller is very sweet and subtle.
In a way, it reminds me a little bit of Mellow Corn because of the color and the sweetness.
After I let the glass sit for a minute, the nose gives off a little more sweetness, and the second sip I still get the easy sweetness and a bit of a honey taste.
I wouldn’t call this the most complex whiskey I’ve had, but I would say that if you had some folks around for a few drinks that this would be a good one to bring out to share.
You get the name brand value and you can talk up the association to Pappy. It is sweet and not overly boozy, so you can appeal to folks that may not regularly drink whiskey. And, it isn’t super strong so you can have a few and not worry too much about it sneaking up on you.
I’ll call this solid and unspectacular, but a lot of fun!
Let’s go with 82/100.
BTW, if you have Apple TV+, check out Tehran. I’m all caught up right now, but it is a pretty good show.