Overview
The W.L. Weller 12 Year Bourbon is the famous Buffalo Trace wheat mash aged for 12 Years.
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Sweet
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Spice
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Heat
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Balance
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Texture
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Complexity
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DETAILS
REVIEW
RARITY
DISTILLERY
Buffalo Trace
MASTER DISTILLER
Harlen Wheatly
AGE
12 Years
PROOF
90 | 45% ABV
FIRST RELEASE
2001
RELEASE FREQ
Annual
MASH
REVIEW69%
CORN
16%
WHEAT
15%
BARLEY
PALATE: Aromas of lanolin, almond, creamed corn and toasty vanilla. The mid-palate flavor is heavily wheated, layered and moderately sweet. Long, oaky, and intensely smooth finish.
HISTORY LESSON
REVIEWThe W.L Weller brand, or W.L. Weller for “William LaRue Weller” has been around for a long time. A very long time. William Weller was born in 1825 and began his bourbon ventures around 1840. In the mid 1800s, William LaRue Weller is credited with being the first bourbon distiller to replace rye with wheat as the secondary grain in his mash. The addition of wheat to the mash created a softer, creamier bourbon with much more sweet caramel and vanilla flavors instead of the traditional rye spice. This is still true today in releases by Kentucky (and beyond) Distilleries with wheat mashes in their portfolio.
However, the lore behind the story is probably a little more stretched truth than reality. For more check out William LaRue Weller.
Though the Weller brand was owned and produced by the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Co up until 1972, it was bought and sold several times before landing with Buffalo Trace in 1999. Today Buffalo Trace carries on the legacy of William LaRue with the Weller brand and a variety of W.L. Weller releases. The first modern W.L. Weller 12 Year was first introduced in 2001.
REVIEW
Each Weller 12 release varies slightly but bourbon should exemplify:
NOSE: Well-aged oak leads into rich vanilla, brown sugar, some slight earthiness and that classic cherry and subtle citrus the Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 is known for.
SIP: The sip opens right where you would expect, sweet caramel over rich oak with hints of cherry. After the initial sweet notes, it waves in hints of darker fruits and closes in on some nice rye spice, pepper and even some of that earthiness. Overall the pour is perfectly harmonious with sweet and spice over light oak and dark fruit. It is truly well-aged, classic bourbon in every sense.
For an in-depth review of each Weller 12 release, see Reviews.
WHAT IS IT?
W.L. Weller 12 Year Bourbon is known as the “poor man’s Pappy”, and for good reason. The Weller 12 is a 12 Year expression of Buffalo Trace’s famous wheat mash, the same mash used by the famous Pappy Van Winkle brand. In fact, there is also a Pappy Van Winkle 12 Year bourbon called the “Lot B”. Since both are the same mash distilled, aged, and bottled at Buffalo Trace, these are the same bourbon. The only difference between the two is the Pappy Van Winkle line goes for up to 23 years, so only the best bourbons are selected for this lot, the rest become Weller 12. If you drink the two side-by-side, known as the “12 Year Challenge”, they are very close in nose and flavor with the Lot B having slightly more depth and complexity.
Weller 12 is a 90 proof bourbon aged 12 years initially released in 2001 by Buffalo Trace. While the initial release of the Weller Brand was actually in the 1840s, Buffalo Trace did not acquire and release it until 1999. At that time, the Weller Special Reserve was the only W.L. Weller released. Today the brand has expanded even further to include several releases in the W.L. Weller Brand.
More about Buffalo Trace W.L. Weller Brand.
The bourbon is meant to be a soft, sweet, well-aged bourbon that is incredibly smooth. This 12 year old wheat mash creates a soft bourbon that is approachable and complex to a bourbon drinker at any level. Though there isn’t much variation in releases, almost everyone will find this bourbon great enough to be on their shelf. Each expression captures the sweet notes of a lower proof wheat mash with slightly more complexity, while being incredibly smooth and refined.
IS IT HARD TO FIND?
Not the most difficult. You can find these for a pour pretty easily and often in the wild. Your best chance of finding these at retail prices is by getting to know your local liquor store owner or at bourbon drops. Believe me, the chains get a ton of these and local retailers get these but in low quantities so being on the short list is helpful. The Weller 12 is often released year around so happy hunting.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Worth the hype? Absolutely. This is an excellent pour and could easily be anyone’s daily sipper. Worth the MSRP? Absolutely. All of the Weller line is worth their MSRP and probably more in some cases. Worth the ridiculous secondary prices? Depends on the price. Look, the reality is these can command higher prices than MSRP, and rightfully so. However, to the liquor store trying to get $300 for this – you’re out of your mind. I’d say a fair secondary for this is about $90 or so, but I can see anything under $120 being an ok deal depending on your market.
Like all the Weller releases, this is a truly a great pour. I’d put this in the must try for any bourbon enthusiast along with all the other Wellers. If you can try them together in a single flight, even better. As far as a bottle, if you had the opportunity to purchase this for a reasonable price I think it is a must own. For many, it might be the closest thing to Pappy you get on your shelf. Either way, this is an amazingly smooth bourbon that will impress a drinker at almost any level and shouldn’t be too hard to find for a reasonable price.
More about worth here: Worth it?
IS IT FOR YOU?
Honestly the answer is probably yes for anyone. There are only a few cases where I can see someone turning their nose at this. The first is a straight rye drinker that might not like the soft and subtle sweet of wheaters. The other would be people that need the heat. This still has great age and complexity, it just delivers it in a soft smooth profile. While this bourbon might not check all the boxes for everyone, a vast majority will find it excellent.
RELEASES
This is a batched release so most years are the same.