Weller Antique 107 Binny's Small Batch Select Batch #4 Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $35
- 107 Proof
- NAS
- NCF
- Kentucky

A short while back a good friend of mine picked this bottle up for me. During this time I had a lot going on, and it was a really nice positive amongst a see of negative at the time. Did I mention he's a really good friend?

Weller Antique, which was once a regular shelfie, is now locked away in back rooms or displayed on shelves behind counters in nearly every store, either saved for their best customers or marked up beyond reason. The store picks seem to be even more sought after at this point, and so, as far as free bourbon goes, this is about as good as it gets!

While I've always preferred bourbon with rye as the tertiary grain, as far as wheated bourbons go, Weller Antique and Maker's Mark Cask Strength have always been my preference. This one had a nose that was a bit different from any previous Weller Antique I've had before. It had a very bready quality to it. It smelled sweet and reminded me a lot of graham cracker at first. At times I also got raisin notes, giving it a nice cinnamon raisin aroma as well. The nose was absolutely delicious on this one.

The flavor tended to match the nose, with cinnamon and raisin being the first to flavors I picked up. However, it wasn't quite as sweet as the nose. Rather, it had a spicier cinnamon note to it, as well as a distinct wood note that helped offset the sweetness. I still got that sweet, graham-crackery note to it as well.

As wheaters tend to be, though, this was still a sweeter bourbon. The sweetness really kicked in towards the middle of the palate, with a sugary and vanilla-like note, almost like cake frosting (which I love on graham crackers, by the way). It all seemed to work together for a sort of Frosted Flakes flavor.

The finish was very short-lived. It was sweet vanilla and corn notes, again taking me back to Frosted Flakes. But it was gone in an instant. I was actually surprised at the watery texture of this one, particularly given the proof and the fact that it's non-chill filtered. I guess those two things don't automatically mean you'll get an oily or buttery texture, as this one certainly came across a bit thin. This is about the only criticism I have for this pick, however.

Some buddies and I had this bottle among others for a whiskey tasting, including Weller Special Reserve, Weller 12 Year, Weller C.Y.P.B. and another private select single barrel. While the consensus favorite was the Weller 12 Year, this one got the nod from me. This was an excellent pick, and as I type this I sit here wishing I only had more.

Grade: A-