One of the ever so slightly more uncommon labels in the Weller range is the C.Y.P.B - what does that stand for you ask?

Well, in the alcoholic spirits world there's no shortage of acronyms, and all too often it's some 1800's Caucasian guy's name. But this time it's different - it's worse. 

It stands for Craft Your Perfect Bourbon. -.-

This was an exercise in 2018 when Weller's producer Buffalo Trace wanted to do more community engagement - y'know make Bourbons alittle more fun and interactive, and so they made a site www.yourperfectbourbon.com where fans could have their say over the Bourbon making process.

Some snippets from the simulation on the site.

When you get to the website, you get to go through the simplified steps of being a distillery manager, going from deciding the mashbill, all the way to toasting the barrels, even selecting the warehousing technicals and so on.

It's pretty fun to be honest, and the website remains active as of 2023 and you can still head there and play around with it.

Nonetheless for this marketing activation back in 2018, over 100,000 fans submitted their entry, and humorously, Buffalo Trace concluded that the overwhelming fan favourite on aggregate was a wheated bourbon, aged at the high floor of the rickhouse, aged for 8 years and bottled at 90-99 Proof - oddly specific and as if the distillery folks didn't already have a new expression entirely ready to hit shelves that fitted nicely in the Weller portfolio that had at that point lacked a slightly more aged but lower proof bottling.

If so, I'd be shocked that folks didn't simply choose the maximum age and proof.

Nonetheless, let's not get too fussed - it was a great activity to rouse Bourbon fans and was all in good fun. It would be quite the stretch to truly craft an aged Bourbon as per the will of the people - does anyone actually expect Buffalo Trace to do that?

Never the less, the result of which was the Craft Your Perfect Bourbon C.Y.P.B bottling - I suppose the naming made folks feel like it really was going to be as per the crowd consensus.

Anyway, just in luck, I finally spotted one today at a good friend's new bar.

In terms of Weller reviews, I first reviewed the 12 Year Old and the Full Proof (really started on a high note there), and then the W. L. Weller across multiple recent vintages, followed by the Special Reserve and the popular Antique 107, and now the CYPB. The only Weller expression I've yet to try is the Weller Single Barrel and the recently released Daniel Weller.

W. L. Weller C.Y.P.B. - Review  

Tasting Notes

Color: Amber

Aroma: Kicking off with bright, sweet notes of caramel, toffee and vanilla whipped cream, butterscotch, simple syrup, and then a touch more plasticky as in burnt brown sugar. With some time, the fainter notes of wild cherries show up, and then a little bit more on light cherry crumble with a light dusting of cinnamon. There's also a more herbal eucalyptus and cough syrup scent as well.

Taste: Quite punchy and forward - loads of honey, caramel, butterscotch, and heavy on the maple syrup and a more herbal cough syrup. It's intense with lots of thick sweetness, clove spice, eucalyptus and a touch of tangyness. Some brief notes of cacao nibs and toffee, but not as forward as the maple syrup and cough syrup flavours.

Finish: Ah finally the cherries make a reappearance, albeit still missing the cherry crumble flavours. Here it turns more savoury - more of that barrel char and oakiness, as well as more herbaceousness of parsley. Clean, crisp finish, noticeably short on the flavours, although there is a lingering warmth.

My Thoughts

This was very much a mixed bag - there was the good and then there was the not so good, let's just say it, the bad.

The positives here were that it was very cohesive and very flavour forward, it was well-rounded and intense.

Now, on the other side, where's the cherry crumble?? That signature lovely, dense, cooked cherries in baked confectionaries was nowhere to be found! It's flavours, while well-rounded, were pretty one dimensional in this regard. There was a noticeable lack of the fruitiness that we got from the Full Proof and the 12 Year Old. Also the finish was pretty weak - flavours dissipated quickly, although the warmth did at the least linger for a little while more.

However, that said, nix the Weller name aside, it is a decent Bourbon that you can obviously tell is well-made, but simply doesn't hold up to the Weller name and experience we got from its siblings.

That all would be fine, however for how difficult this is to fine, and the likely premium you'd have to pay if you did want it - you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

It might be worth adding this to the ranking of the Weller's I've tasted thus far (except the W. L. Weller from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection). So here goes, from best to worst: Full Proof, 12 Year Old, CYPB, Special Reserve and in last place, the Antique 107.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot