WftA Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon Review #1

Brian’s Whiskey for the Ages Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon Review #1

31-December-2020

WHISKEY FOR THE AGES NECK POUR HIGH PROOF INFINTY BOURBON REVIEW #1:
This first sample of our Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon is dark and full of fruit and wood. The blend tastes old, has fantastic depth, a little heat and all-in-all, our first infinity bourbon is a hit. I look forward to discovering how this Infinity Bottle Project changes over time.

High Proof Infinity Bourbon

WHISKEY FOR THE AGES NECK POUR HIGH PROOF INFINTY BOURBON REVIEW #1 VITAL STATS:
Category: Infinity Bottle Project
Region: USA
Source: For whiskey input details reference the table below
Infinity Blended Mash Bill*: 72.53% corn, 10.47% rye, 5.37% wheat 11.63% malted barley
Barrel Char*: #3.5
Barrel entry proof*: 122
Age: nas due to multiple entries
Infinity Blend ABV*: 60.45% (120.9 Proof)
*(calculated values)

HIGH PROOF INFINTY BOURBON

Learn more in FaceBook’s Infinity Bottle Experiment group.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:
For the evaluation, three ounce pours of our Whiskey for the Ages High Proof Infinity Bourbon were made into two Glencairns and enjoyed neat with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her thoughts on our first infinity blend here!

NOSE:
Our Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon has little to no burn upon first nosing, but I could sense the alcohol is there. Further wafting brings deep sensations of sherry soaked blueberries and dark currents while spices of cinnamon, clove, white pepper, and rye treat the nose. I also picked up caramelized burnt sugar and woody caramel, along with traces of roasted pinenuts in dark chocolate covered toffee. But the most prominent aroma in this infinity blend is heavy, strong, old oak and smoky-sweet toasted-wood, which pairs nicely with its hazy barrel spice and musty aged leather.

PALATE:
The first sip of our Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon has a slight alcohol bite. As sensed on the nose, this is a wood forward blend, having lots of heavy, strong, old oak in each sip. There are traces of sweet corn, dusty grain, and a touch of hay and in its smoky sweet toasted woodiness as pepper and rye mix with cinnamon infused dark currant, fig and raisin mincemeat. This infinity blend pour is dark and tastes old with only a hint of burnt and woody caramel sweetness. The blend passes the aromas of elements of hazy charred barrel spice and musty aged leather to the mouth.

High Proof Infinity Bourbon

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Our first infinity blend pour is solid and well-blended. It smells and tastes old, is rich and deep, full bodied and quite viscous and oily. In the Glencairn, fat legs form quickly and cling between each sip. When they finally do plunge into the flame colored pool, the inverted droplet crown lasts much longer than expected. As I enjoyed this blend, I felt it was somewhat reminiscent of Old Forester 1897 but with greater age, depth and heat. When the Glencairn was emptied, I poured the 1897 and my thoughts were confirmed.

FINISH:
Our Whiskey for the Ages Neck Pour High Proof Infinity Bourbon finishes exceptionally long and offers pleasant lingering warmth. As sensed on the nose and palate, the finish has plenty of dried dark fruits of currents, raisins and figs soaked in cinnamon, pepper and rye infused sherry which add depth to its burnt dark caramel toffee. As the pour is downed, well aged old oak and smoky sweet barrel char linger on the palate.

MY RATING: 90/100
Will I continue with the Infinity Bottle Project? YES

While it is impossible for true comparisons because of the nature infinity blends, the score shown above is similar to what I gave after my reviews of Booker’s 2019-01 Teresa’s Batch, Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits, Eagle Rare 10 yr Old Bourbon, Four Roses Single Barrel, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 7, Old Forester 1920, Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Stagg Jr. Batch 11, Stagg Jr. Batch 12, and Weller 12 Year Old.

Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

High Proof Infinity Bourbon
High Proof Infinity Bourbon

Back to …

Brian’s Whiskey Reviews
Individual Reviews

Whiskey for the Ages is One Year Old!

Whiskey for the Ages is One Year Old!

One short year ago, Hannah and I announced the launch of our whiskey website, WhiskeyfortheAges.com. The world has certainly changed, but our love for this magical elixir has grown – and the journey has taught us a lot too!

As of this first anniversary, our site offers nearly 150 whiskey reviews! While our noses, taste buds, and preferences conflict from time to time, we’ve enjoyed the adventure and sharing our thoughts with readers. The review library includes profiles of more than 85 whiskeys (most of them bourbons). And the number grows nearly every week. “The Sip” page, includes a dozen whiskey articles, and we have plans for many more. Be sure to “subscribe” so you can be notified when Hannah or I publish a new post.

In our site’s sidebar, there are links to “Whiskey By Price” and “Whiskey By Proof” as well as a Tools widget where readers can download free copies of the “Whiskey Wheel PDF” we reference when evaluating a new whisky, a “Whiskey Glossary & Vocabulary” list defining the many of terms we and other writers use, and an “Infinity Bottle Worksheet” for people to record additions and subtractions when creating and sampling their own whiskey blends. We will be posting an article on this fun project on the “The Sip” page soon.

The widgets and links noted above can be found near the bottom of each page when accessing the site on a phone (after an article or review), or to the right of the content when using a laptop or tablet. There are also widgets for readers to search our site’s content and another to safely suggest a whiskey to review, article topics to research or to simply leave a comment on a whiskey we’ve reviewed or something one of us has written.

Whiskey for the Ages is One Year Old

And of course one can find the “Subscribe” widget in the sidebar as well. Scroll to find the widget and enter your email address so you’ll never miss new content.

WhiskeyfortheAges subscribers are notified by email whenever we post … and don’t worry … contact detail is never shared without written consent. Click to read our Privacy Policy.

We look forward to sharing in the year ahead … Cheers!

Brian

WhiskeyfortheAges.com editor
Brian Dawson, LinkedIn

Back to …

The Sip – Whiskey Articles
Whiskey Reviews

Header photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Weller 12 Year Old Review

Brian’s Weller 12 Year Old Review

updated review 23-September-2023
(originally posted in Apri 2018)

WELLER 12 YEAR OLD REVIEW:

Weller 12 Year, my first bottle of “Rare Bourbon”, was purchased in November 2017 as a result of my entry being drawn from the Idaho State Liquor Lottery. The following is an update of my original review.

Weller 12 Year Old (Weller 12) offers balanced aromas and flavors of warm wheat, cherries, plums, and blueberry treats while delighting the senses with cinnamon, nutmeg, and white pepper. The pour has a buttery, viscous, and rich mouthfeel, which help prepare it for the medium-long and warming finish. The sensations deepen as dark molasses and heavily toasted oak, becomes more pronounced as I progress through the glass. Once emptied, the Glencairn presents with residual alcohol notes and the scent of freshly milled oak sawdust.

WELLER 12 YEAR OLD VITAL STATS:
Weller 12 Year Old

Category: Allocated, Wheated Bourbon
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distillery: Buffalo Trace
Mash Bill: undisclosed, but believed to be approximately: about 70% Corn; 14-16% Wheat; 16-14% Malted Barley:
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel entry proof: 114
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 45% (90 Proof)
NABCA CSC #:
Fair Price: $159.58 (BoozApp, September 2023)
Paid: $39.95 (Idaho, September 2023)

Learn more at Buffalo Trace.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

On Day 23 of the 2023 30 Bourbons in 30 Days Challenge, by alternating the pours, eight onces were split between a Glencairn and a Weck. After posting updates to social media, my daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat as I prepared this review. About 30 minutes had gone by before my first sip.

NOSE:

My first waft of Weller 12 brings sweet fruit tree blossoms and warm summer wheat. Deeper draws bring sweet cherries, plums and the unexpected aroma of blueberry filling blended with faint cinnamon, nutmeg, and white pepper in a fresh baked pie. Additional baking notes of graham cracker, chocolate cream, and vanilla find their way to my nose as well. Then come sweets of caramel corn, brown and maple sugar, with a drizzle of maple syrup over pecans. Also in each breath I find freshness in light sweet oak.

PALATE:

Each sip of Weller 12 I take, is warm and wheaty. Like I found on the nose, maraschino cherries and plum yield to blueberries, now in the form of syrup, and cheesecake on a baked chocolate graham cracker base. Spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper along with rich vanilla serve to enhance the confection. The sweetness builds as simple syrup, brown sugar, maple sugar and pecan supports light and toasted oak.

Weller 12 Year Old

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
I find the fruit and sugar flavors in Weller 12 to be in perfect harmony with one another while its spice and woody notes play a fine supporting roll. The blend is incredibly easy to hold as salivary glands flood to make mouthfuls feel buttery, viscous and rich. In the glass, a thick, solid crown forms. And after each sip, the liquid veil breaks into irregularly spaced clinging legs to drain the extra back to the flame-colored pool.

FINISH:

The finish I get from Weller 12 Year Old is long on the palate while it warms the throat. It offers a soft wheaty punch while dark berries, cherry, and plum trade with sensations of cinnamon, black pepper, and vanilla. Then the finish deepens, as dark molasses and dry, heavily toasted oak mix with tanned leather. The pour becomes more earthy the further into the glass I venture. Once the final drops are gone, the empty Glencairn has notes of residual alcohol ans smells of freshly milled oak sawdust.

MY RATING: 90/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 90/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies under this banner, click Weller.

WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR WHEEL AND GRAPH
Weller 12 Year Old
Weller 12 Year Old

Back to …

Brian’s Whiskey Reviews
Whiskey Reviews