Overview
William LaRue Weller is part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, a fall release featuring limited-production offerings of their famous mashes. The LaRue is Buffalo Trace's famous Wheat Mash, shared with the Pappy Van Winkle brand, bottled uncut and unfiltered.
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Sweet 8.0
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Spice 6.5
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Heat 8.5
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Balance 6.0
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Texture 8.0
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Complexity 8.5
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DETAILS
REVIEWRARITY
DISTILLERY
Buffalo Trace
MASTER DISTILLER
Harlen Wheatly
AGE
NAS (12 Years)
PROOF
118-136 | 59-68% ABV
FIRST RELEASE
2005
RELEASE FREQ
Annual (LE)
MASH
REVIEW69%
CORN
16%
WHEAT
15%
BARLEY
PALATE: Fragrant scents of caramel corn, new leather, plums, light toffee and pipe tobacco. The palate tastes of marshmallow, salted almonds, nougat, figs and dates. This whiskey finishes smooth, composed and flavorfully sweet.
HISTORY LESSON
REVIEWThe 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 one thing, W.L. Weller himself was not a distiller. Like many whiskey distributors of the time, he was more of a blender of sourced whiskeys. One place he sourced whiskey from was the Stitzel Brothers who had a distillery in Louisville in the 1870s. The Stitzel Brothers were famous for experimentation and innovation. In fact, they invented and patented the popular rack system of storing bourbon used by almost all distilleries today. And while one of their experimentations was a wheat bourbon, there is little evidence to support that this was a widely available commercial product at that time.
Wheat or not, the first Weller product was introduced around 1850 and the brand gained almost instant traction. The Weller bourbon became so popular that it is said that Weller himself would have to use his own thumbprint in green ink on barrels to ensure that customers were getting the real deal. In fact the whiskey was so popular that it garnered the attention of a young enthusiastic whiskey salesman named Pappy Van Winkle, and it is here that the legend of wheat bourbon truly begins.
After Weller’s retirement, Van Winkle and a few other salesmen bought up controlling interest in the W.L. Weller company and begin a partnership with the newly formed A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery. Shortly after, prohibition was passed and while they were able to keep production going through “medical prescriptions”, there were limitations on the amount of stored bourbon a distillery could have. Once prohibition was lifted, it was then that the wheat bourbon gained traction.
With fresh demand and limited supply, the bourbon makers needed a jump start. W.L. Weller officially merged with their producer and formed the Stitzel-Weller Distillery to begin producing their own bourbon. But with no stock, the makers needed to innovate in order to offer a product that was worthy of their new label in a short amount of time. It was then that they brought back the wheat mash. Wheat as a secondary grain creates a sweeter softer bourbon that requires much less aging time to achieve maturity. Now whether this was a lesson learned from past experiments or the revival of a Weller secret is completely up to you and which lore you would like to believe, but the rest is history.
Bottled as Old Weller and Old Fitzgerald, the Stitzel-Weller wheat mashes were a huge success. Today both the Weller and Old Fitzgerald brands, in addition to the Pappy Van Winkle brand, all still use a wheat mash to carry on the legacy of that innovation.
Today Buffalo Trace releases their uncut and barrel proof version of that same wheat recipe every fall with the Willam LaRue Weller line.
REVIEW
Each William LaRue Weller release varies slightly in age and proof, but 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 William LaRue release, see Reviews.
WHAT IS IT?
William LaRue Weller is the uncut and unfiltered wheat entry into the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection aged for around 12 years.
The LarRue was the second barrel proof entry to the current 5 bottle Fall release of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, better known as BTAC, after George T. Stagg. While this is technically not a “brand” but a collection of different brands, the release is still widely regarded as a single compilation. In fact, the bottles within the release are so closely tied together even Buffalo Trace considers the collection a brand on their website.
More about Buffalo Trace Antique.
The initial release of the Antique Collection was in 2000 with low proof premium offerings of their famous mashes. In 2005, prompted by fans, the distillery released an uncut and unfiltered offering of their most widely used mash called George T. Stagg. With the resounding success of that initial release, Buffalo Trace decided to release an uncut unfiltered offering of their most famous mash, the wheat mash.
In 2005, the first high proof offering of their wheat mash was released under the Weller line, honoring the “inventor” of the wheat mash, William LaRue Weller. To the excitement of fans, this release built on the overwhelming success of the Weller brand, and was one of the first full proof wheat mash offerings available.
The bourbon is meant to be a bold well-aged expression. The 12 year old wheat mash creates a soft sweet bourbon that is amplified with complexity and flavor at high proof.
The LaRue, as it’s often called, is not only one of the most popular and sought after BTAC releases, but one of the most popular wheat bourbon releases outside of Pappy.
Each release of this premium selection of high proof bourbon is a must try. The elegant dance of bold flavor and subtle sweet is truly a unique pour unmatched by any other bourbon on the market.
IS IT HARD TO FIND?
This is definitely a unicorn. It’s as equally hard to just find as it is to find for anything under $1,500. The distillery releases somewhere around 20-30,000 bottles per year, but it honestly feels like it might as well be 50. This one is typically found in high-end restaurants, bars, and some liquor stores that seem to have everything but charge way too much. It is clearly a bottle that gets bought or gifted and then sold to the highest bidder looking to cash in.
As such, this is one to be careful with as it is ripe for fakes. This is the “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” scenario. That said, if you’re patient and lucky, you may get a bottle before you die. More likely though, if you’re willing to shell out $2k, this is not an impossible bottle to find. Remember it is a fall release, so often you will see them around Novemeber-January.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Worth the hype? Simply, yes. I can’t stress this enough, this may not be for everyone but the uniqueness of the pour more than validates its reputation. Worth the MSRP? You’d be crazy to pass on this. Worth the ridiculous secondary prices? Maybe not $2k but it is definitely worth more than the MSRP. This might be release-to-release, but again this is not for everyone so even at $1,000 this may be crazy for someone but not for someone else – depending on release.
Like every BTAC release, this is a truly a great pour. I’d say this in the must try for any bourbon enthusiast just to appreciate the complexity and texture this bold bourbon achieves with this wheat mash. As far as a bottle, this is may not be for everyone, but it is definitely for most. A well-aged high proof wheat bourbon hand-picked for its quality and characteristics isn’t exactly on every shelf. For some though, the high proof of this mash can at times be overwhelming. Some of the subtle sweetness and underlying nuance can get lost to heat. As far as BTAC consistency, I’d put Eagle 17 and George Stagg above the LaRue, still, some of the releases in this series have been some of my favorite pours of any bourbon.
Realistically for the quality of the bottle, anything under about $500 is fair game, though due to the rarity of this bottle, I’d be very skeptical of that price. If you’re paying that, you better know the bottle is legit and thank your lucky stars that you won the bourbon lottery. A pour should be on everyone’s list. This is a unique bourbon that can justify some higher-end prices that might not be as palatable as the bourbon itself. Anything under $80 is more than fair. Anything above about $100 is more for each individual to decide. Still, this should definitely be on the try before you die list so don’t get too lost in the value equation.
More about worth here: Worth it?
IS IT FOR YOU?
If you love high-proof uncut bourbons then without a doubt, otherwise it’s difficult to say. Even those who love wheat mash bourbons might find this a bit harsh as it does not have the subtlety you may be used to, though that is unlikely. If you are familiar with the Weller line, or even Pappy Van Winkle, there’s a good chance you will enjoy this too, albeit, prepare yourself for some heat.
This bourbon has been a crowd favorite since ints inception and with the secondary prices it commands, you have to imagine there is some validity to its reputation. Though I will suggest if you are new to bourbon, you might want to get a few other offerings under your belt before diving head first into this one.
While I can’t say that this bourbon would be anyone’s favorite pour, there’s no doubt you should try it, and possibly more than once. If it comes out a bit rough you may not be ready for the high octane punch it packs, but soften it up with a few drops of water until you can appreciate the complexity. In any case, LaRue is without a doubt a top overall pour in any flight.
RELEASES
Release | Age | Proof | Rank |
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2023 | 12y 6m | 133.6 | 3 |
2022 | 12y 8m | 124.7 | 8 |
2021 | 12y 6m | 125.3 | 4 |
2020 | 12y 6m | 134.5 | 2 |
2019 | 12y 6m | 128 | 6 |
2018 | 12y 6m | 125.7 | 7 |
2017 | 12y 6m | 128.2 | 5 |
2016 | 12y 7m | 135.4 | 1 |
2015 | 12y 3m | 134.6 | NA |
2014 | 12y 3m | 140.2 | NA |
2013 | 12y 1m | 136.2 | NA |
2012 | 12y 4m | 123.4 | NA |
2011 | 12y 11m | 133.5 | NA |
2010 | 12y 3m | 126.6 | NA |
2009 | 11y | 134.8 | NA |
2008 | 11y 2m | 125.3 | NA |
2007 | 10y 3m | 117.9 | NA |
2006 | 15y 3m | 129.9 | NA |
2005 | 12y 2m | 129.9 | NA |