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:
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.
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.
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WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR WHEEL AND GRAPH
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