What Bourbon did you purchase today? - Summer 2011

[hectic1]

In celebration of the best time of the year I made a visit to Binny's to find that they have finally gotten in their private bottling of Weller Special Reserve. I grabbed one and will probably be grabbing some additionals in the coming weeks for the bunker...on first visit it sweet on entry with maple and vanilla turning to a hint of dried fruit on the finish. I didn't get the woody character or the dryness that I have on some of the WSR SB's out there...going to revisit in a week or two to see if I still give it the "buy" rating!

[cigarnv]

The WSR is always a crowd pleaser with folks as it is such an easy drinker. Over the past few years I have had bottles that have been just "OK" to others that are very good. Looking forward to your take on the Binny's as I am due to do a bit of restocking.... assume this is an under $20 bottle?

[gblick]

The other day I found a handle of WT Old#8 bottled in '95. I had some from '97 that I was not impressed with at all, but I'd heard that earlier years were much better (but I forgot which years were the good ones), so I took a chance and bought it. It turned out to be real good tasting.

I also picked up a couple of OWA and one OGD114 that day.

[T Comp]

In celebration of the best time of the year I made a visit to Binny's to find that they have finally gotten in their private bottling of Weller Special Reserve. I grabbed one and will probably be grabbing some additionals in the coming weeks for the bunker...on first visit it sweet on entry with maple and vanilla turning to a hint of dried fruit on the finish. I didn't get the woody character or the dryness that I have on some of the WSR SB's out there...going to revisit in a week or two to see if I still give it the "buy" rating!

The WSR is always a crowd pleaser with folks as it is such an easy drinker. Over the past few years I have had bottles that have been just "OK" to others that are very good. Looking forward to your take on the Binny's as I am due to do a bit of restocking.... assume this is an under $20 bottle?

I've only had one taste, compliments of Joe, and as a guy who has loved all the past Binny's bottlings, would just say this is my least favorite and "OK"... but I'm just not the biggest WSR fan and didn't think much either of the Everett's bottling that a lot of other people really enjoy. I think Joe mentioned this was originally supposed to be an OWA bottling but something got lost in the translation between them and BT. Price is $18.99.

The other day I found a handle of WT Old#8 bottled in '95. I had some from '97 that I was not impressed with at all, but I'd heard that earlier years were much better (but I forgot which years were the good ones), so I took a chance and bought it. It turned out to be real good tasting.

Yup, 92- 95 and I need me some more!

[AaronWF]

I've only had one taste, compliments of Joe, and as a guy who has loved all the past Binny's bottlings, would just say this is my least favorite and "OK"... but I'm just not the biggest WSR fan and didn't think much either of the Everett's bottling that a lot of other people really enjoy. I think Joe mentioned this was originally supposed to be an OWA bottling but something got lost in the translation between them and BT. Price is $18.99.

Yeah I picked one up over the weekend and echo these sentiments. This is the first bottle of WSR I've ever tasted, and I find very little reason to revisit it. I'll say that for a $19, there really aren't any offending notes in the bottle, but there isn't much to it either. I could see it blowing away the regular OWA bottling if it was 107 proof, but at 90 proof, nothing really makes it onto the palate.

If you need to get drunk very quickly, it's a great deal and it'll do the job, but if you prefer to savor your whiskey, I just don't see it. I'll continue to look for it as I work on the bottle, but I'm very underwhelmed thus far.

[RyanL]

2 PVW 15 and 2 PVW 20 in Philly on my way back home from Atlantic City.

[StraightNoChaser]

Some interesting finds yesterday that I picked up this morning after a little research:

Weller 12yo with the raised wheat in the glass (picture below)
Numbers stamped on the back, according to Ian S., indicate it is a 2004 bottling: 42041013:22pm
So far I have only smelled it but it has a superbly rich aroma... probably going to go pick up a newer W12 today and do a side by side

WTRB W-T-01-97 375ml
I'm not much of a Turkey fan but figured I could either drink this and get a feel for what WT used to be or use it in a trade with a friend

WTKS Pewter top
All of the information on the necker has been completely rubbed off with the exception of "On Rick No. 26"

Any information on these bottles would be helpful. Thanks.

[hectic1]

Some interesting finds yesterday that I picked up this morning after a little research:

Weller 12yo with the raised wheat in the glass (picture below)
Numbers stamped on the back, according to Ian S., indicate it is a 2004 bottling: 42041013:22pm
So far I have only smelled it but it has a superbly rich aroma... probably going to go pick up a newer W12 today and do a side by side.

That Weller 12 is actually a 2010 release...they didn't start using that bottle until 2007 and the code indicates that it was bottled on the 204th day of 2010 at 1:22pm. Sorry to burst your bubble...

On the WTKS I'm guesing that is a 2001 or earlier bottling as the sticker on the front changed in 2002 to a brown sticker that they started using on the WTKS smooth brown tops in 2003.

[BradleyC]

On the WTKS I'm guesing that is a 2001 or earlier bottling as the sticker on the front changed in 2002 to a brown sticker that they started using on the WTKS smooth brown tops in 2003.

I have a WTKS from 3/5/01 that has the brown the label so I'm guessing this one is older than that.

Along the Weller 12 lines, I picked up 3 bottles this weekend for $14.99 each. It was a small store in a small town. They had price stickers on everything and did not have a scanner at the register. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it when I saw them, other than grabbing them. Later on, I made the determination that whoever put the price tags on these bottles was not a bourbon person and must have thought they were Weller Sp. Reserve. I don't really care what year they are from, but they are the new bottle shape.

[Ian S.]

That Weller 12 is actually a 2010 release...they didn't start using that bottle until 2007 and the code indicates that it was bottled on the 204th day of 2010 at 1:22pm. Sorry to burst your bubble...

Ok, so the dating is solved. I have several new bottle Weller 12's and the serials are either gone or in a different format than the above.

It's also safe to say that there have been different versions of this new bottle and label. I would also say that some SW juice has made it into some early offerings of this bottle. I have a liter of the new bottle that is definitely SW....I have no doubt about it.