Weller has abit of a power rangers reminiscent line up of bottles each with a different coloured label, 

• Weller Special Reserve – "green label", bottled at 90 proof
• Weller Antique 107 – "red label", bottled at 107 proof
• Weller Single Barrel – "orange label", bottled at 97 proof
• Weller Full Proof – "blue label", bottled at 114 proof, and non-chill filtered
• Weller 12 Year – "black label", bottled at 90 proof
• Weller C.Y.P.B. – "white label", bottled at 95 proof

Each of them corresponds to a different proof, with the blue label that I have with me today, the Full Proof, being the highest proof of the lot, notwithstanding the crowning jewel of the Weller range, the W. L. Weller, which is part of another range from Buffalo Trace Distillery called the Antique Collection.

The Weller range features wheated bourbons that are made using Buffalo Trace's wheated mashbill, the same mashbill used for the highly sought after Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve, since Buffalo Trace took over its production.

As you might have guessed, the Weller range is named after a W. L. Weller.

The whole story of wheated bourbons started with W. L. Weller, who had spent his life building the family's whiskey business, and was said to be the first to produce straight bourbon using wheat in place of rye in the mashbill. Now this took place in the mid 1800's, so we'll just have to go out on a limb and take his word for it.

Some decades later, close to the 1900's, Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. came to work for the W. L. Weller whiskey business as a salesman. When W. L. Weller himself had passed on several years later, the opportunity of a lifetime arose for Pappy to purchase the company he had worked for.

This company later became the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which when finally closed in the early 1970's, had its brands, including W. L. Weller, was sold to Ancient Age Distilling, which belonged to the large drinks conglomerate of yesteryear Schenley. Eventually, things were passed around for abit and ultimately acquired by the Sazerac family, and were finally housed under the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Yet, the W. L. Weller and Pappy lineup till this day remains the only wheated bourbons made by Buffalo Trace, and continues to commemorate the two men whose lives were deep intertwined with the making of wheated bourbons.

Today we're going to get to try the Weller Full Proof, which punches in at 114 Proof, or 57% ABV. It was introduced as the answer to a higher proof version of the otherwise "barrel proof" Antique 107.

W. L. Weller Full Proof - Review

Tasting Notes

Color: Amber 

Aroma: Punchy and a little sharp, starts off with sweet cream, and some corn syrup and caramel. Nothing particularly discernible with a slight varnish note.

Taste: Gets more flavorful here, bursting forth with notes of caramel, butterscotch, cinnabons, and a particular cherry flavour as you might find in a cherry crumble and a sort of cherry-flavoured licorice. There’s more on honey, vanilla cream, with a nutty fatty rancio oiliness that also tosses out alittle bit of varnish notes.

Finish: More of that aromatic dense cooked cherry note, fading into more bitter medicinal notes. 

My Thoughts

Wow I really loved this! While the aromas and finish left more to be desired, it was made up for by the really flavorful cherry flavours that were so well integrated - it isn’t sharp or overly tart, but rather more of a dense cherry sweetness that you might find in a cherry crumble.

This seems to be a Weller classic note that cherry crumble flavour, and compared to the 12 Year Old, this one’s more punchy and aggressive, which also means the cherry notes stand out more, but conversely it also seems to be a little bit more narrow in its expressiveness.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot