~$30, 1.75 L bottle- Purchased at ? (really, I can’t say…someone else picked it up for me and asked me not to reveal the source as they are afraid the price will skyrocket if people find out)
Background
It’s been over 5 years since I did my review of W.L Weller Special Reserve. Seems hard to believe that back then I found Weller SR for $25 locally and even cheaper when I made a trip up to Knoxville. In the ensuing years, this Bourbon has become increasingly popular and hard to find, while the MSRP has become something of a joke. Go ahead…Google “Weller Special Reserve” and see how much a 750mL (Fifth) bottle is going for…I found prices ranging from $40 to $180 and I didn’t even look that hard.
A friend of mine travels for work, though, and he found a place in some other state that sells Weller Special Reserve (they seem to have misplaced the “W.L.” part when they updated the packaging a couple years ago) for somewhere close to list. He brought back a 1.75 mL (“handle”…though without a handle on this particular bottle) bottle for about $30. And his source actually has it in stock on a regular basis. Another time, he brought back a case for another friend of mine.
Getting into the stories and intricacies…Weller Special Reserve is a product of Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. It was named after one Mr. William Larue Weller (1825-1899), who legendarily produced the first Bourbon to use wheat instead of rye in the mashbill. The Weller brand was created by Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company but it’s home has been with Sazerac (the corporate parent of Buffalo Trace) since 1999.
To answer the question, “Is this the same Bourbon as Pappy Van Winkle?” The answer is yes…and no. Buffalo Trace uses their “wheated bourbon mash bill” of 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% barley on all Weller products—including the newer “William Larue Weller” Bourbon at the top of the range—and all Van Winkle products except the Family Reserve Rye. So, it does all begin as the same whiskey. Somewhere along the line, the master distiller comes in and tastes barrels; those that are deemed to be of sufficient quality and marked and put aside for further aging to be come Van Winkle products. The rest become Weller products. So the only difference between Weller and Pappy is…time…and barrel management…and the palate of the master distiller…and the luck of the draw for the barrel being in just the right place at just the right season. Really, it’s all the difference in the world.
Notes
I believe just about any Bourbon will pair pretty well with just about any cigar. I further believe that a good wheated Bourbon will probably pair better with more cigars than a high-rye Bourbon. Why? Because the wheat will lend a softer, “rounder” flavor without as much spice. To try to illustrate my point, I decided not to put in too much effort to find a cigar to pair with this Bourbon. Went to my humidor, passed on a couple things that just didn’t have any appeal to me today…selected a Cohiba Connecticut, something General Cigar sent me for review. I already did the full review and had a stick left over. (That full review will be posted later this week.)
In the glass, the Weller Special Reserve has a strong oak aroma, followed up by vanilla and caramel. It was smooth and sweet on the tongue with just a little alcohol vapor heat (it is 90 proof, after all) and very little else in the way of spice or heat as it slides down the throat. In the last month or so since I got this bottle, I’ve made my way through about half of it and enjoyed every bit…sweet, smooth and mildly spicy that it is.
The Cohiba Connecticut fired up with mild sweetness, hay, and wood notes. The Weller SR was light enough to not stomp all over the Shade-wrapped blend, instead just adding some extra sweetness, a twist on the wood notes, and a hint of pepper spice. Bottom line…if you want to smoke the Cohiba Connecticut as a “breakfast cigar” the Weller would be a great “breakfast bourbon” choice to go along with it.
I also paired the Weller SR very successfully with Tatuaje and Padron cigar…stuff more in my wheelhouse. If I had more time before this review needs to be published, I would try it with a nice Davidoff, too…but maybe I’ll have the chance to amend that later on.
