William Larue Weller 2007, 10 years old, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, 117.9 proof, 58.95% abv.

The big boy from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which is an annual release of 5 specially selected Buffalo Trace products: William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Thomas H. Handy, Sazerac 18, and Eagle Rare 17. The inaugural release wasn't all "5", but ended up with the current lineup, I guess I'll talk about that another day. WLW is the wheater in the group and is typically treated as the leader of the pack due to taste and consistency. This 2007 bottling though is considered the weakest of all the WLW releases to date. Let's see what happens.

Nose: intense bourbon alcohol, good amount of honey, roasted caramel, nutmeg, christmas spices like baked cinnamon. After some time its more fruity, more like a bouquet of fruits.

Palate: intense, soothing chemicals, liquid portion of wood polish, baked cinnamon, sourness comes at the back, hard to describe. With time, some sweeter fruits. So much going on, quite complex for me.

Finish: moderate, dry, initially sour, spicy, tingles the roof of my palate.

Dry glass: red apple skin wax, very dry, caramel.

That high abv seriously masks many delicious flavors for my amateur tongue. With time a variety of fruity and sweet flavors pop up. Can't believe it's only 10 years old. Not a normal bourbon. Enjoyable, not as tongue pungent as commonly available young bourbons, tries to balance everything on the tongue. I feel my palate just can't pick up all the nuances that I know are there. I have something to look forward to.

Grade: A

Whiskyanalysis.com, 9.21 ± 0.23 on 16 reviews
Whisky advocate, John Hansell, 87 points
L.A. Whisk(e)y Society, A-
IWSC 2006, Double Gold Medal and Best in Class

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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