W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

Well, it's a day after July 4, but today is when my bottle of W.L. Weller 12 came in - so the review comes in a day late...oh well!

W.L. Weller 12 Year Old is a Kentucky wheated bourbon - meaning wheat is used as the secondary grain (behind corn), smoothing out the bourbon and making it softer.

William Larue Weller was a distiller in the 19th century, whose company merged with Stitzel in 1935, creating the Stitzel-Weller distillery (otherwise, I don't know much about them). Today this bourbon is distilled by Buffalo Trace.

The colour is a nice dark amber. On the nose, there is apricot, oak, dark fruits, and deep caramel. Very deep and rich nose, with undertones of freshly baked bread.

In the mouth - a burst of flavour, with an oily mouthfeel, a real zip from the alcohol, and lots of pepper, paprika and nutmeg. Some dried fruits like raisins and apricots (again). Sweet caramel. Soft but also with punch. Water brings out more spice.

The finish is quite long, very dry and oaky. A little chocolaty. This is a deep, rich and very satisfying bourbon, though a little bit dry and oaky. Still, a fitting way to say Happy Independence Day to my neighbours down south!

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