W.L. Weller 12 Year Old Bourbon - This is definitely one of my favourite bourbons to date, and I ration my bottles because of how difficult it has become to score one.
Produced by Buffalo Trace (BT), Weller 12 is often referred to as the "poor man's Pappy"; for those new to the Bourbon/Whisky game, Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are some of the most sought-after bourbons on the planet, that cause amateurs, connaisseurs and drinkers alike to fight over them, camp out overnight at their local stores, and fetching ridiculous prices on the secondary market. The "W.L." stands for William Larue, who is supposedly credited with being the first to swap rye for wheat in the recipe for bourbon. Weller goes as far to say, on their labels, that they are the "Original Wheated Bourboun". Let it be noted, that there is a lot of information floating around that says the Weller family never made whiskey, they only sold it or re-distilled it; Believe what you will, it all makes for an interesting read.
As the recipe card goes, "wheated" bourbon contains wheat as the second largest componenet of the mash bill after corn, instead of rye. Wheated bourbon normally produces a sweeter flavour profile, but a lot of the flavour will stem from the barrels and aging process. Weller 12, as the name so clearly states, is aged for 12 years in new, charred American-oak barrels before it is bottled. Compared to a regular bourbon recipe, the wheat and the age most certainly contribute to the smoothness of this bottling, and it's very easy to want to pour a second or third glass in the same sitting.
If you fancy a try, your best bet is a collector or serious amateur of this one as it's almost impossible to get your hands on these days. When a store declares inventory it's usualy gone inside a hour or so. Don't overpay in the secondary market as bottle prices have jumped to over $150 a pop.
Nose: Vanilla, dark chocolate, bitter orange (think orange peel) and caramel
Palate: Maple sypup, pecans and/or almonds (think marzipan) and baking spices
Finish: Smooth, "syrupy", long finish, with hits from the charred oak, vanilla and caramel
(WB-, Distiller-93, BB-4/5)
