Now you might have seen our review recently on the first ever Weller Barrel Select making its way to Singapore, which was bottled in celebration of a wedding - and wouldn't you know it, in quick succession, we now have a second ever Weller bottled for Singapore!

The fact is both Weller Barrel Select's (one an Antique 107 and the other a Full Proof) actually came together at the same time. As it so happens, somewhere in the process of selecting samples for the Weller Antique 107 Barrel Select, the opportunity came up for a second Barrel Select bottling to be made for the Singapore market - and thus we have the Weller Full Proof Barrel Select, Selected By J.E.N., for Singapore!

I've been told by the "N" of J.E.N. that the acronym is actually composed of the three individuals who have shared in on this particular Weller Barrel Select, with each of them receiving somewhere in the range of just 30 bottles - a small yet much more likely opportunity to picking up a historic Singaporean Weller Barrel Select than the Antique 107 version, which was something closer to that of party favours for the wedding.

The "N" in J.E.N., or Nic who helms Bar Madame.

And where would you find it other than Bar Madame, the most recent addition to the Singapore drinks scene, which was established by Nic Jens, the "N" of J.E.N. Now Bar Madame has already quickly carved itself a reputation for rums, and indeed they've got such an eyewatering collection of Velier expressions, Foursquare's, Hampden's, Savanna's, you name it, they've got it - if you're a rum geek, this is the place for you. But that would just be half of the story, because the bar is just as well quickly building its rep sheet as the place to go for Bourbons too (and I've also heard something about wines coming onboard soon enough), something that I've been told we'll see more of this 2025. And whilst that might seem like a rather eclectic combination, as a personal fan of both categories, I think they make a potent combination that is sorely missing in the little sunny island.

And so with that, let's give this particular Weller Full Proof Barrel Select a go!

Bourbon Review: Weller Full Proof Wheated Bourbon Barrel Select, Selected by J.E.N. For Singapore

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber

Aroma: It opens with great richness, it's concentrated, it's rounded, syrupy almost, filled in with immediate jammy aromas of cherry crumble, raspberry pies and strawberry jellies too. This is wrapped up in folds of fudge and butterscotch cream. There's also that musty nutty saltiness topped over it, of peanut brittle and peanut butter cups. Also an aspect of lacquered wood furnishings too.

Taste: Really great intensity here, silky yet rich, which a moreish fullness to it. More of that fudge and buttercream that's supple and bodied padding that otherwise spiciness of szechuan peppercorns. Red cherry hard candies come through, building with it this spiced quality of basil, cloves, cardamoms and bay leaves. More peanut butter making its way across, and with time that cherry candy just continues to intensify, backed up by scoops of muscovado sugar.

Finish: That richness begins to recede into a satisfying dryness emanating from barrel char, it's savoury almost of burnt ends. It's a clean and resolute finish, with dark chocolate nibs lingering.

My Thoughts

A really stunning Weller! This stands out for expressing such a striking presence - it's vibrance in particular was incredibly impressive. Already on the nose it delivered this flavour pop, bursting with all these red fruits with such concentration, depth and richness, and then wrapped up in swirls of confectionary tones of fudge and butterscotch, finally topped with a crown of peanut brittle nuttiness. It's so forward and yet keeps its balance!

The palate focused more on giving that moreish fuller bodied richness, again that supple confectionary base of fudge is given a counterpoint of more intense spiciness of szechuan peppercorns, which made it incredibly satisfying that contrast! It then builds upon this more spiced quality with a whole spice rack that again highlighted the richness of the body that too started to give a more earthy and darker sweetness of muscovado sugar.

The finish too showed great progression, going from the body's richness which gave way to a gentle dryness of barrel char that finished off in a really clean and decisive manner, only to make a comeback with some dark chocolate petit four.

Now of course this demonstrated that Weller quality we all love with that cherry crumble, but even amongst Weller's, this definitely stood out for have such a great presence - a very, very remarkable expression here!