Theres an old rule you don't judge a man on his fathers sins or merits well you can apply that same rule here, Special Reserve may be a good bottle but it isn't really that special. It pains me a bit to review the special reserve or as i refer to it "the green label" Weller. Why? Because it simply isn't anything special at all, in fact it's downright ordinary. With all due respect to the folks at Distiller who wrote the tag on this entry, this is not a "close second" for Pappy, or for Weller 12 or Antique 107, I'm sorry but it just isn't. So what is it? Well it's a very simple and uncomplex, smooth yes, bland (almost) bourbon, wheated, sure but that in of itself simply doesn't make anything special. Want an inexpensive wheat mash bill bourbon that isn't bland and has character? Try the other guys down the road with the big Key hole on the bottle. Now does any of this make Weller Special Reserve bad? Again no. Nothing wrong with it for what it is, a good basic no frills not very interesting but acceptable drinking bourbon, and thats ok. The thing to NOT DO is associate this w/ Pappy, or the BTAC William Larue Weller or even the 12 year and 107, because it isn't ALMOST any of those, it isn't close to being any of them, it just isnt. The Weller name on the bottle doesn't mean something more than that it came out of the BT house. A bottle of Eagle Rare or even Buffaloe Trace is an upgrade and certinaly not a difficult upgrade to achieve. That said the recent trend is for Weller SR to be less available due to mystique buying and a price trending upward toward the mid 20's in city liquor stores. As there are happy substitutes in this price range, Larceny, the HH BIBs etc, a "shortage" really should not affect anyones quality of drink. Blending a poor mans pappy and other bourbons is an art and blending Weller SR w/ some headier drams can certianly yeild a nice result. The only way Weller SR will ever be like Weller Antique is to blend a very liberal portion of the 107 to your green label. That is reality my friends. Weller Special Reserve, smooth, consistent, unremarkable .... 2.5 stars. Cheers!