Sipp’n Corn Bourbon Review – W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

Bourbon:         W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

Distillery:        Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky

Age:                12-Year Age Statement

Proof:              90 proof

Cost:                $25.99

Tasting Notes

Color:            

Deep bronze.

Nose:              

The nose of Weller 12 is unmistakably sweet with caramel and butterscotch notes.  Do I smell cereal because I know it’s a wheated bourbon or because it’s really there?  It’s hard to tell.  But the nose is definitely smooth and subtle.

Taste:

The sweetness of the nose continues on the palate with flavors of caramel, butterscotch and vanilla, but with excellent balance and depth of wheat, oak and almond, which prevents it from tasting syrupy.  This is very rich and smooth bourbon with great warmth.  It didn’t open up much with a drop of water, so I prefer my Weller 12 neat or with minimal ice.

Finish:            

Medium-to-long finish, but maybe medium when compared to more complex bourbons.  The finish was warm and smooth with honey-wheat grain flavors.

Bottom Line

The Weller brand touts itself as the original wheated bourbon, using wheat instead of rye as its secondary grain.  This bourbon is named after William Larue Weller (1825-1899) and in its heyday, it was part of the famed Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company.  It’s now owned by Sazerac and produced at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Using wheat as the secondary grain gives it a different profile than bourbons that use the more traditional rye mash bill.  Wheat also tends to give the bourbon a much smoother taste.  Other examples of terrific wheated bourbons include Maker’s Mark and the Pappy Van Winkle line, which, as most people know by now, is made from the same mash bill as Weller (Buffalo Trace distills both brands from the same mash bill with no distinction on the front end for what brand will ultimately be used).  Instead of hunting down Pappy and paying a small fortune, I’m happy with Weller 12.

Weller 12 could be the price-performer of all bourbons, and it’s definitely better than many bourbons twice its price.  What it lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for in its balance and drinkability.  I highly recommend Weller 12.

Score on The Sipp’n Corn Scale:  4.25

The Sipp’n Corn Scale:

1 – Wouldn’t even accept a free drink of it.

2 – Would gladly drink it if someone else was buying.

3 – Glad to include this in my bar.

4 – Excellent bourbon.  Worth the price and I’m sure to always have it in my bar.

5 – Wow.  I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.