Yet, again we are in this predicament with more bourbon samples. Some unique, some not so much.
Weller 12, 90 proof
As today is Wednesday… Lets appropriately start with a Weller 12. This is the same wheated BT mash bill as all the other Wellers (and Pappy) aged at least 12 years and batched among some barrels for consistency. MSRP is around 39.99, secondary is 199.99 (oof!). Nose is… fairly typical Weller/BT faire with sour cherries and fair amount of wood. The wheated mash bill is felt a little bit on the nose making it more subtle and more of a refined sugar smell vs typical charred caramel that bourbons tend towards. Palate is soft, velvety smooth, slightly woody and well balanced with the sweetness. Neither overwhelms or under-represented here. The aftertaste is gently with wood and spice coming to dominance yet still in a gentle way. The whole experience feel like a gentle blanket that makes me go for more… yet it’s not really compelling enough to truly shine. I get a feeling it’s trying to be too… gentle of an experience with nothing for me to latch on to say ‘THIS is what I want in my glass’. The proof is also unfortunately underwhelming… can this be higher proof PLEASE… oh wait.. that’s basically pappy or William Larue Weller (BTAC) then. A fantastic bottle up to double MSRP, but not worth the hype train or the secondary pricing at near $200. An excellent, pleasurable, yet un-inspiring pour.
Score: B+
Willett Bourbon, Ledger’s SP #4795, 129.6 proof
A 6 year old single cask picked by Ledger’s in Berkley. A little rye and eucalyptus forward nose with tons of live spices in it, very lively and a bit proofy, considering the abv. The nose has a bit of a sour apple note so it is very pleasant to say the least. Palate is hard to describe, rye spices, heavy roasted nut (NOT peanuts) presence, quite bitey from the proof but not overwhelmingly so. Very unique palate, not that sweet, bordering on savory, herbal, nutty, and nearly bitter, but not quite ever entering unpleasant territory for me. The palate continues the crazy concert from the palate with spices dominating. Absolutely unique and unlike anything I’ve tried before this is a wow stunner. It’s a shame it doesn’t quite fit my preferred, sweeter, drinking palate as it such an interesting pick and is certainly an experience to be had. In some ways it reminds me of the kaleidoscope of flavors I’ve had out of malted Old Potrero rye single casks, while this leans towards bourbon, it retains some of that herbal eucalyptus whimsical play onto the senses. Of course this is something long gone and considering the Willett 6’s year bourbon pricing, I’d think twice before paying for this bottle in the first place, so this is certainly in the ‘beg your rich friend that has it for a pour’ category.
An interesting similar sentiment from Mark and Michael here: https://the-right-sp … -bourbon-store-pick/
Score: A-
Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old, 90.2 proof
I saw this at a store priced same as regular Jefferson’s Reserve and couldn’t pass up. Looks like the bottle was produced towards the end of 2014. Real age of contents: unknown but some sort of a mix between 8 and 18 year old bourbons, mash bill is also unknown, but leans towards wheated profile. Nose is typical rye forward whiskey and little more alcohol than the proof may suggest but mostly just tells me that this is a ‘bourbon’. Some sweet vanilla, alcohol burn, and few dark fruits are also present. Palate is fruity with citrus notes, vanilla of course and caramel. The wood offers a bit of a burnt toffee or coffee note in the background without being too present. Mouth texture is pleasant and slightly viscous. The finish is warm and warming with more of the notes from the palate. Unfortunately it’s too low proof and too watery on the flavors to be of any real interest and if proofed up this would be too bitter and way unbalanced into the charred wood bitterness (not toasted, charred). Certainly get a taste at a bar, as this is inoffensive, but skip buying this as a bottle. Plenty of other things out there that are much more interesting. @work this would probably be a good one or at least will be done fast as it is an easy drinker that doesn’t require any thoughts behind it and instead requires something to fill the void, be that conversation or some kind of different activity. I’m not regretting drinking this, yet I’m also not excited to have more of it either. This is a completely neutral start of the night and leaves no last impression, making this a solid…
Score: C-
Willett 6 year old SiB
No other info provided. Assuming it around 120 proof as with other Willett single casks.
Nose is fairly intense alcohol, vanilla, spun caramel sugar, citrus and orchard fruits. Palate is all about grapefruits with slight bitterness being well pronounced. Eucalyptus notes come up in the palate after some time. The usual sugar and caramel flavors are there too. Not quite typical MGP profile, it’s somewhat pointing in that general direction. The aftertaste fades slowly into sweet and gentle spices. This takes water like a champ and cuts the alcohol bite, becoming rather pleasantly relaxed and sippable even if staying on the lighter side of the spectrum.
Score: B+
Bardstown Discovery Series Batch 3, 110 proof
A blend of: 45% 13 years old bourbon from MGP, 32% 13 years old bourbon from Barton and 23% 10 years old bourbon from Wild Turkey (though it could be JB) the distilleries aren’t stated, only mash bills which are open to infererence. Super quick taste suggests Turkey, not Beam. Intense wood caramel and MGP+Turkey spices on the nose, basically sweet and spicy and woody, really enjoyable. On the palate… it’s like MGP and Wild Turkey had a beautiful pheonix of a baby. Dusty cherries, sweet oak and spices, some chocolate, bit of licorice. Yum! It’s fantastically integrated and exceptionally multilayered. The aftertaste continues the multilayered avalanche of flavors from the palate while substantially potent it’s only about average length with tingling sensation afterwards. In short: it is very, very good stuff. The MGP spices compliment WT well with barton balancing it out fantastically makes this quite an enjoyable sipper. While this doesn’t quite make me go ‘wow’ while drinking it, it is an excellence in blending of different mashbills that shines though. This is essentially 13 year old MGP blended with Russell’s Reserve and balanced off by 1792… and it is real good. The price is a little… questionable for me as none of the components are really expensive per-se so I’ll leave it up to the reader to establish their valuation.
Score: A-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown