Not a fun weekend for the sports lover in me. On Saturday, my beloved Missouri Tigers – so close to the national championship game – got steamrolled by the running game of Auburn. I’m not certain, but I thing they may still be counting the yards Auburn racked up. The season certainly isn’t a loss – the Sugar Bowl awaits – but to be so close and fall short…
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions continue to fumble away the division lead, this week with a loss to the ‘Iggles‘ in snowy Philadelphia. A loss which will cost me a bottle of bourbon, due to my wager with my Philly-raised brother-in-law, no less. Thanks a lot, Lions!
Luckily, in these moments of toil and woe, comfort can be found easily enough in a bottle of bourbon, so this week, I crack open the W. L. Weller Special Reserve for a taste.
The Weller’s have always been popular with the wife and I – first of all, the smooth taste of wheated (rather than rye) bourbons are more my speed. The Weller family of bourbons have been favorites of our for a while – yet another great member of the Buffalo Trace family.
The nose was a bit strong – more reminiscent of it’s 107 proof cousin than the 90 proof it is. Definite hints of corn and a woodiness not unlike sawdust poked out from the grain-rich alcohol scent.
The taste was wonderfully smooth. Mouth feel was soft and buttery, but not so much as to be creamy. Again, wood and charred oak appeared, although not overwhelmingly so. With ice, I noticed a much stronger sense of caramel and something vaguely nutty, like pecan.
On the finish, a bit of pepper – again, very very smooth. A medium finish, without a burn but rather refreshing.
This may not have the complexity of a great bourbon, but for the taste (and a remarkable price point), it is a very good one.
Dan scale (1-10): 7.9
Baseball and Bourbon 
The Lions will always break your heart!
Hi Dan, cool site especially being in Michigan. I have always enjoyed bourbon buyt mostly with cola ie. Jim (not anymore due to the sell off) now Evan black label. I have been wanting to switch to better quality to drink neat. I had just purchased a bottle of Weller special reserve. Unfortunately all I got from it was rather heated pallet with a long warm finish. Are there any tips for drinking neat or other bourbons that would be better for this? I wound up splashing some coke in it after I added an ice cube and took took big of a sip which caused me to shiver a bit 🙂 . I was impressed with how much better it was with the coke than the forementioned . thanks and keep the reviews coming.
Hi Joe – thanks for reading! Sounds like you are looking for something particularly smooth, with less “bite,” to drink neat – might I suggest the Angels Envy? It sounds like that might be more up your alley. I enjoy a good whiskey-and-coke myself, but usually use a more traditional bourbon (even williams or jim beam) for that… Give the AE a try, and let me know what you think!