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Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Weller Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $28
- 90 Proof
- NAS
- Kentucky

I actually finished this bottle a couple weeks ago, but I held onto the empty while I debated whether or not to write this review. It just seems weird to me to just now review a whiskey that I've had hundreds of times before. This is not rare or hard to find. While it is loved by many, there's nothing overly special about it. And, as I mentioned, it's one that I've had more times than I can count.

I tend to use this blog as my own personal whiskey journal, allowing me to go back and recall which whiskies I've tried and what I thought about them. It seems unnecessary in this case. But, at the same time, I finished the bottle and I've never reviewed it before, so for the sake of having it officially logged in my journal, here I go with my review. 

The nose comes across as immediately sweet, kind of a brown sugar note as opposed to the typical caramel sweetness.  It also had a bit of an artificial cherry note, which is interesting as I don't typically get that off of Weller products. It also had a woody, almost cardboard note to it that wasn't necessarily off-putting, but was just familiar.

One reason that I don't often reach for Weller is that I tend to like a spicier bourbon. Being a wheated bourbon, Weller products tend to lean sweet, and Special Reserve is no different. It leads with that same brown sugar that I got on the nose, along with a sweet cinnamon note, almost like a cinnamon candy but without the spice.

Immediately behind that the sweet notes continued, as I got a light note of milk chocolate, as well as a bit of that cherry candy that I was getting on the nose. Neither of these notes hung around very long, though, which I'm sure is due in part to the low proof of this whiskey. There's certainly nothing bold here. 

The finish is very reflective of that, as the flavor is gone almost immediately after each swallow. What does linger are the brown sugar notes I got on the front end, as well as a light but sweet oak note.

This is an easy drinker for sure. It's on the sweeter end and it's low proof, which is why I often give it as a gift to my whiskey novice friends. For my taste, though, I want more spice and more heat, which is why I so often leave these on the shelf when I see them, knowing that there are others out there who enjoy finding a bottle much more than I do.

Grade: B-

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