Tastes

I just realized I never reviewed this, and then I realized that pretty much summarizes the review. It's different than WT 101 by a fair amount, and yet it's not quite rye enough for me to reach for it instead of, say, Knob Creek rye or Jim Beam pre-prohibition rye. It sits in a weird middle ground where you can taste the dill and mint, but they're so faint as to be detracting, and yet it amplifies that WT grape funk in a way that is just too much of a good thing. I know that a lot of folks love it, but I'll be sticking to the regular 101 as my house whisky.

Nose is light, floral, with a whiff of orange peel...nothing off-putting, but also nothing to write home about. Palate has nice mouth feel, and opens smooth and sweet, with apples quickly leading to a burst of sticky cognac pear flavors that are just as quickly pushed aside by a very little dried (stale) spice and a fair bit of oak tannins. Closes short, slightly sweet, and with no surprises. Glad I tried it, but the core 12-year is not only quite a bit cheaper, it's also quite a bit better.

Salty, briny, sweet and smokey on the nose, like an ocean breeze wafting over a picnic basket of dark fruit jams and pancetta. Palate is rich and heavy, leading with figs, saltanas and then plums and cherries, before a whisp of salt tang leads to the briefest taste of peat smoke and then on to a clean finish, with the smoke lingering just a moment longer at the end. My first OB Bunny, but it will not be my last. This is excellent, and will be a permanent resident in my Scotch collection.

This is a solid drink. It succeeds because it does everything better than average, and does nothing wrong. It's rich, with solid caramel, vanilla and cherry on the nose and palate, and has just enough oak to finish clean and warm. Well worth $50, but don't pay scalper prices because it can't compete with the regulars in the $70 and up realm.

Sweet, rich and full-bodied. Rather than being one harmonious taste that you can pick apart to find the elements, there are noticable gaps between the very clear flavors. Open with light apples and pears, (pause) to light honeysuckle, (small pause) to rich honey, (long pause) to sharp nutmeg, clove and ginger, and then (pause) close clean with just a bit of heat and oak. It's interesting, and if there wasn't the noticeable spaces between flavors, I'd rate this a solid 4.5.

A 17 year for $60? Yeah, I'll give that a try, thank you very much Costco. Nose is light and floral, and reminds me of Dalwhinnie without the honey. Palate is very smooth, and coats the mouth nicely. What starts quite nicely as sweet and fruity, redolent with apples and pears and honeydew, turns quickly bitter with a blast of grain alcohol that wipes out the fruit and leads promptly to a short, dry, slightly novacaine finish. Very reminiscent of Chivas 12 with more body. This could have been so much more with just a little better blending. As it is, it's ok, and I wouldn't turn it down by any stretch, but I won't be buying another bottle either.

Nose in unremarkable; vaguely sweet, and then a flash of caramel. A deep nose adds oak, but little else. Palate is also very middle-of-the-road. Caramel, vanilla bean, a faint tease of maraschino cherries, and a flash of chewy dark molasses cookies before oakey dryness finishes. Not bad, but also not really worth seeking out. Surprisingly mild for a rye, and rather non-complex for a single barrel whisky of any type.

Second taste. Nose is rich and sweet, but there's a hint of something odd, like playdough or clay hanging around in the background. Palate is sweet, decently smooth for the ABV, and not overly hot. Caramel, nougat, pecan and a blast of cinnamon that is less like the handful of Red Hots I remember from before, and more like a half-stick of Big Red. Closes slightly thin and hot, but clean, with a barely lingering numbness coating the entire mouth. This is my favorite of the Weller series, and well worth MSRP. At $50 though, there are better options, including the various Maker's high-proof offerings.

My nose isn't what it was before I moved to South Carolina, but I can still make out the vanilla, butterscotch and caramel. Palate is smooth, rich and creamy and as sweet as the nose would suggest, but midway in there's a surprising amount of spice and nuts that I didn't expect. That burst of nutmeg, allspice, pecan and chestnut keeps the balance and prevents a one-note drink. It's good, but it's not $100 a bottle good. It's barely $50 a bottle good. And it's nowhere near as good as the original Old Fitzgerald 12 year. Try it, but don't get caught up in the hype.

Nose isn't much to write home about; brown sugar, vanilla and fresh cut plywood. Palate is better, leading with maraschino cherries, followed by caramelized sugar, vanilla and cinnamon before wrapping up with a drying wood astringency. Neat, clean, and sweet with little to offend aside from a weak nose, but also very little to excite. If this was $25 I'd say it was worth a try. At $50, it is decidedly less enticing, and should be passed over while reaching for the Four Roses small batch or single barrel, the WT Rare Breed or Forester 1920.