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DETAILS
REVIEW
RARITY
DISTILLERY
Buffalo Trace
MASTER DISTILLER
Harlen Wheatly
AGE
NAS (6-8 Years)
PROOF
95 | 42.5% ABV
FIRST RELEASE
2018
RELEASE FREQ
Annual
MASH
REVIEW69%
CORN
16%
WHEAT
15%
BARLEY
PALATE: A light aroma with citrus and oak on the nose. The palate is well rounded and balanced, with a medium-long finish and hints of vanilla.
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 iteration of the W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B. was introduced in 2018.
REVIEW
Each Weller C.Y.P.B release varies slightly in age and profile, the 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 CYPB release, see Reviews.
WHAT IS IT?
W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B or “Weller CY” as it’s known, is a 95 proof wheat mash aged about 8 years which places it pretty much in the middle of most of the wheat releases in age and proof.
The Weller CY was initially released in 2018 after Buffalo Trace asked its drinkers to “Craft Your Perfect Bourbon”. The distillery held an online and guest survey to ask fans how they would create the perfect bourbon. Fans got to choose a mash bill, proof, warehouse and age. Overwhelmingly fans chose the famous wheat mash recipe that shares its DNA with some of Buffalo Trace’s most coveted bourbons like Pappy Van Winkle.
Now whether you believe the resulting bourbon was purely a crowd sourced result, or merely a heavily guided experience, the results were a resounding success. While the reviews of this bourbon vary from some calling it the best in the series and others saying it’s a miss, the majority place this bourbon solidly within the top of the Weller line.
More about Buffalo Trace W.L. Weller Brand.
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. In a few short years they had expanded the brand to rerelease the Old Weller Antique 107, the Weller 12, and an uncut William LaRue. Today the brand has expanded even further to include several releases in the W.L. Weller Brand.
The bourbon is meant to be a soft, yet balanced expression. The 8 year old wheat mash creates a softer sweet bourbon that is approachable to pretty much all drinkers. Though there isn’t too much variation in releases, they are definitely worth a try. Each expression captures the sweet notes of a lower proof wheat mash with slightly more complexity, while being much more subtle than the higher proof expressions.
IS IT HARD TO FIND?
These are definitely rare in the wild. Even finding them to try a pour isn’t always easy. As far as the Weller line goes, the CYPB is one of the fewest produced. That probably explains why it’s so hard to find, and commands the prices it does on the secondary market and why it is often one of the last bottles needed to complete a Weller “rainbow” (getting all the Weller label bottles). The CYPB is often a spring/summer release, so often they will drop from March-August.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Worth the hype? That’s a tricky one. It is definitely an excellent bourbon and an excellent example of the Weller brand, but the line is so good the endorsement doesn’t mean as much. Unfortunately though, this bottle probably has more hype around it due to its scarcity than profile. Worth the MSRP? Absolutely. All of the Weller line is worth their MSRP and probably more in some cases. Worth the ridiculous secondary prices? That is where I’m going to say, probably not. Look, some people who have this may think it is the best of the Wellers, I personally would not agree but I can see how you would get there. It is excellent. However, because the Weller line is so robust and amazing, it’s impossible to say this bourbon is so much better than the rest and should command prices north of $400. From a flavor profile this is priced about where it should be at MSRP, from a rarity standpoint I can give it a little leeway and say anything under $250 could be fair. Above that and it’s honestly more about the label.
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, it is definitely a crowd pleaser and an easy sipper, but I wouldn’t go nuts trying to get it. For me personally I’d put the Weller Full Proof above this bottle, and possibly even a Weller 12. A pour of CY should be on everyone’s list though. This is a really good sip and everyone should try it, though I wouldn’t go nuts for a pour either. Some bars will try to take advantage of the label and charge some truly baffling prices, however I’d say under $50 a pour is decent enough value.
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 second are those who prefer to ramp up the heat and complexity, however there is still something for them in this pour albeit lacking. And the final group would be people obsessing over the label. Look I get it. It’s easy to hate on Wellers, especially one like CY that feels like a gimmick bourbon, but at the end of the day, the bourbon is really good. It’s not he best thing you’ll ever pour, but if you just get passed the label, it’s really good stuff.
While this bourbon might leave some on the table so to speak, it’s excellent in its own right. This pour is for just about everyone honestly. Any bourbon lover will certainly find this a quality pour and some will even love it.
RELEASES
This is a batched release so most years are the same. However, 2020 was an exceptional year.