Weller Antique 107 Single Barrel

Gone in 60 Seconds. That’s the title of my experience with Weller, any Weller, when it’s available on the FW&GS site. Used to be, FW&GS did an internet only release every third Wednesday of the month with specialty, allocated whiskies at 10 a.m. Sometimes, it would be Blanton’s, sometimes Old Fitzgerald, sometimes Weller, Eagle Rare 10 year, you get the idea. The BT Antique Collection and Pappy were never on these pages. Rather those were on auction, and you never won the auctions. And unless you had the world’s fastest internet connection, you weren’t getting these specialty releases either. Any of these. I’d tried. I’d get a bottle of Weller’s 12 or Blanton’s in my cart, his process, and it would reload telling me that bottle was no longer available. Didn’t matter how quickly I got to the page, if I had my log in credentials already logged. I wasn’t getting these bottles. Then, about six months ago, FW&GS announced that they were no longer doing the release on a schedule. They would post the bottles on a special page whenever they got stock. This didn’t necessarily make it easier to nab these specialty bottles. You still had to be quick on the draw, checking the page frequently, lucky enough to be there when they dropped a new one. And on Wednesday this week, I was just lucky enough to finish a boring task at work, check the Whisky Release page before my next task, and discover that they had 580 bottles of Weller Antique 107 FW&GS Exclusive Barrels for sale. I wasn’t even logged in and figured I had no chance, but I decided to roll the dice, hit “Log in” drop 2 bottles into my cart, since buyers were allocated to 2 and at 49.99, that would put me at 99.98 for free shipping, and hit Checkout and process. Much to my surprise, unlike previous times, the order went through and I got a receipt. I hit refresh on the Whisky Release page and the bottles were sold out. Gone in 60 Seconds. I think every whisky drinker understands what just happened there: it’s the whisky lover’s equivalent of winning the lottery. Getting Weller at SRP is like seeing Bigfoot screwing a unicorn while a UFO hovers above them filming the whole thing. I mean, the good folks at Buffalo Trace know what they’re doing in terms of creating demand, making this stuff seem special. After all, it’s a wheated high proof bourbon bottled at 107. That’s all it is. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength is the same thing, generally running 109 to 110 proof, which is readily available and goes for $44.99 around my neck of the woods. Larceny Barrel Proof is also wheated, bottled generally around 120-ish proof, runs for $64.99 (used to be $49.99 just last year) and while it isn’t as readily available as MMCS, we can generally get it. I mean, I bought two bottles of C922 two weeks ago and have other bottles in my collection unopened. But Weller feels like an event because it’s so incredibly hard to come by. Is it that much better than those other two I’ve mentioned? Well, it’s….different. I can’t deny the excitement on winning this mad dash for the bottles doesn’t play into my enjoyment of it tonight. UPS delivered it today, and I’ve finished work for the holidays, so I opened it and poured rather large doses for both myself and my wife. She’s in the kitchen cooking Christmas cookies and listening to Christmas music, and I’m here at the dining room table typing this with that going on in the background. It’s hard not to bump this a few points for circumstances. The nose here is fruity and spiced like a baked apple with caramel drizzled on top. Given the aroma of fresh baked pizzelles is wafting from the kitchen, it’s hard to avoid saying there’s a licorice undertone but there’s not. Doing a whisky tasting right next to the kitchen where food is cooking is never a great idea, but I’ve got the tree in the living room to my left, the fireplace mantle hung with stockings, so I’m not moving somewhere else just to get all this unadulterated. The palate continues nice and spicy. The proof isn’t overwhelming but provides a nice kick of cinnamon and caramel vanilla. Truth be told, the palate is nothing like Larceny, which I had last night, which is much darker with chocolate and cherry notes as well as more oak and a bit of a tobacco edge. This is a much brighter palate and differs so much that, despite them both being wheatears, they’re night and day and don’t be comparison. Might just be the proof, but I suspect the mash bills are different enough to make the conversation a moot point. This is a little closer in spirit to the Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, but even that has a palate that’s generally darker fruits mixed with oak and vanilla with a little caramel coming through. The finish on the Weller really shines. It’s super long and spicy, peppery with a hit of oak coming through at the very end. Overall, this feels like a one-off. Can’t say I’ll buy it again because the opportunity might never present itself. I’d love to taste the Full Proof and Weller 12, but that may never happen. Doesn’t matter. This is an unexpected Christmas gift to myself. If you can get it at SRP, buy it right away, without hesitation, just for the experience. The tasting of it I’m having right now, I can’t separate from the experience I’ve described throughout this review. Got a Bad Religion Christmas song on in the background as I finished this. Not a bad way to end the review. Not a bad way at all. Happy Holidays, my friends. Happy Holidays. Actually, this goes great with Christmas cookies!

Super smooth and if a Bourbon could be defined as crushable, this would be it. Ordere as a tier 1 flight

Strong fruity nose, full of peppery spice. The mouth is cherry liqueur and raspberry, with tobacco and leather in the background. This is an exceptional whiskey.