jeff Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 We've discussed various Weller brands over the years, most garnering critical acclaim from our esteemed group of devotees here on SB.com. This month's BOTM is by request from the membership: Weller Antique 107. Rich and full-bodied with the classic Weller profile, the Antique 107 packs lots of punch for relatively little cost. Great for slow sipping or for mixing when you really want that bourbon flavor to shine in your favorite cocktail. Tell us how you prefer your Weller Antique?!:893drillsergeant-thSound off:893drillsergeant-th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickert Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I know there is lots of love for Weller Antique, but it just doesn't do it for me. I will say this, it is a great price for the proof you get. There are not many 105*+ bourbons you can get for under $20.I gave it a 7.75 out of 10 (which places it in the 60th percentile on my all time list). Here are my notes:Hard to get past the alcohol when drinking straight. Cinnamon is driving flavor. Once watered down it looses a lot of character and becomes very similar to WSR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyamnesia Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 well, i really was surprised and impressed last year when i had it...yet, i am having bad luck with my 'second tries' when resampling a bottling. and a SHAME it went up here in PA....from 18.99 to (i think) 20.99...but i will gamble it and grab a bottle tomorrow. i haven't participated in many BOTMs...is this a 'wheater' ? something makes me think it is. like all Wellers??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarV Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I like Weller Antique but I like all the other Wellers better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickert Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 is this a 'wheater' ? something makes me think it is. like all Wellers??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theDon Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Tell us how you prefer your Weller Antique?!:893drillsergeant-thSound off:893drillsergeant-thI prefer all bourbon straight out of a shot glass. I ain't throwin it back, just sippin. I don't go over 114 proof with this style. You know what label I'm talkin about. I am jaded on Weller Antique. Today's version is good, but I have a supply of 70's shit that is the real deal. No comparison. Give me Stitzel-Weller or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramiel McHinson Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 To me the Antique was one of those bourbons with intense flavor and some heat to go with it. I got a lot of sweet corn, brown sugar, buttered cinnamon toast, oak, hint of smoke, pepper, all spice and a touch of menthol. If you like the Antique, it has intense flavor, high proof, and moderate price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyamnesia Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 ok, it's settled! the PLCB site revealed it is 'on sale' for the old price of last year....$18.99. nonetheless, at least it IS. will be getting a bottle at 9:01am tomorrow...:grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callmeox Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Damn...I bought three bottles a week ago at the non-sale price. Friggin Pennsylvanians! I like the Weller 12 a bit more than the Antique, but the additional proof points make it a great value pour for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spun_cookie Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 by far (to me) the best $20 bourbon on the market. It is the younger brother of the PVW 15yr.... and with just a drop or two of what this bad boy opens up almost as much as the PVW 15.... just a great bourbon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyamnesia Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Damn...I bought three bottles a week ago at the non-sale price. Friggin Pennsylvanians! I like the Weller 12 a bit more than the Antique, but the additional proof points make it a great value pour for me. well, i was slightly off...new PA price for weller is 19.99....but yes, the sale is one dollar off...got my bottle...will report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLfarmboy Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Weller Antique never fails to please. It has plenty of sweet corn and a nutty pecan sweetness that is counterbalanced by vanilla and oak tannins. I most often consume it neat, but it makes for a great Old Fashioned, especially when using a combination of Fee Brothers Old Fashioned and their West Indian Orange bitters.I find it is also useful in convincing those who think MM is the bee's knees into trying other bourbons. It has the added benefit of being cheep enough that I don't mind if guests want to mix it with Coke. At 107 proof it has lots of flavor and the right amount of heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyamnesia Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 ok...done. tasted, savored, revisted my last memory of this. compared notes...here's just a list of nuances and what i sensed...appearance:nice 'pearl' necklace that immediately displays micro-drops...but hang and defy gravity a good minute...then the drop of big leg streamlets...against natural light under an overcast sky, golden amber straw honeynose:bacardi 151 rumcakefresh raisin breadand just a cornucopia of all things sweet...hot taffy still being pulled, etc.taste:buttery, caramelized (in turbinado) dried peaches/apricots, maybe plaintains (!)finish:an astringency that i still can't pin down...don't remember this from the last time...nor do i remember this depth. a touch of water suggests another array of possible associations: dry-oak-tannins encrusted with rock sugar granules. just a few. seems, too, i remember a 'mustiness' last time. not that it was bad, but nowhere present here.oh yeah, this 107 proof? seems like a 99 proofer. and yeah...it's not $30? almost beats that last WTRB i had...ALMOST, i said. very satisfying buy.are the numbers on the bottom of the bottle meaningful with regards to where/when distilled?i see a 42 and an 08... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gblick Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Can't believe I missed this thread until now, and sorry if I'm about to come across as an Antique 'fanboy'.I love Weller Antique, and would even say that it's my favorite Weller. Price has a lot to do with my preference for it, as I'm on a pretty limited budget. The Centennial is very good but when considering that it costs 1.5 times the price of the Antique, I'll stick with the Antique over the long haul. Of course the William Larue Weller is probably the 'top dog' of the Wellers, but it's price makes it a very rare buy for me. For some reason the Weller 12 just doesn't do much for me, and I can easily find it around here for the same price as the Antique, even less sometimes, but I much prefer the Antique over the 12yo. The Special Reserve also doesn't do much at all for me compared to the Antique, though it is still good (as is the 12yo). All the Weller bottlings seem to improve a bit over time after initially being opened IMO.I must admit though, that most of my appreciation for Weller Antique comes from my experience with older bottlings. The Stitzel-Weller juice from the Louisville bottlings being the best (IMHO), but I also think that the bottles from even just a couple of years ago (2006) have impressed me more than the 2008 release. Not to say that the 2008 is not good, I still like it very much and still prefer it over the other 'regular' Wellers (SR and 12yo). If you see any from 2006 (or earlier), try it and let me know how you think it compares to the 2008.I enjoy my Weller Antique neat.:toast: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggilbertva Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Weller Antique has always been in my bunker and one of my go to pours. I like it plain and simple. I have the added benefit of enjoying a Single Barrel, non-chill filtered Antique done for a store in KY a year or two ago. It's a notch or two above the standard Antique with the good things in the standard Antique accentuated for the better.It's a rare day if I add anything to my bourbon.....neat is the way I drink it 95% of the time. I'll add water if the proof requires some cutting. Of all the Wellers (WLW the exception), Antique is my favorite with a very close second going to the Binny's 12 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slob Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Weller Antique and Rittenhouse BIB have been alternating in daily duty for me for about two months now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_elliott Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I had this for the first time last night and found it to be a fine bourbon, good flavor nice burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourbonJoe Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Weller Antique 7-107 is one of my favorite everyday pours. I consider it one of the best bang-for-the-buck whiskies there is. If you like wheaters, you gotta keep this one in stock.Joe :usflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoshani Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I sometimes refer to WA as a Poor Man's Rip; it is the same proof as Old Rip Van Winkle 10/107 but three years younger. However, it runs $19 in Chicagoland, as opposed to $30 for ORVW.What's odd to me about Weller Antique is how muted and low-key it is. It's an enjoyable pour for the price; obviously it lacks the depth and richness of ORVW 10/107, but it also inexplicably lacks the flavor presence found in plain old everyday Old Fitz BIB. This genuinely surprises me, because I'd have thought it would be stronger in flavor, being 7 years old and 107 proof and all.I'm still curious as to how the three different distilleries that make wheated bourbon do their thing; we know how Stitzel-Weller did it, and it's a given that all of today's wheaters are descended from that process, but it has to have forked somewhat between Maker's, Buffalo Trace, and Heaven Hill Bernheim - particularly the latter two, which also make standard rye-recipe bourbon and thus have to make adjustments between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilsFan Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Weller Antique is one of the best value bourbons there is. It's not to the level of WLW, but I would certainly stack it up against the other Wellers.I ran out of Antique late in the year, and this thread is a great reminder that I need to go out and get some more.-Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gothbat Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 This is, imo, the best of the regular Weller line, I did enjoy them but none of the others I've tried come close, and one of the best bourbons I've ever had. When this is in stock I generally don't buy anything else for everyday drinking if I'm buying bourbon. (Unless, of course, I'm not in the mood for a wheater...) Usually readily available and cheap but best not taken for granted in any regard... Someday I gotta find myself a SW dusty of this on! I sometimes refer to WA as a Poor Man's Rip... I used to think that too but I didn't find that last bottle of ORVW10 107 I had to be as good as WA, too much wood iirc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livininabox Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I have just began to delve into bourbon, but Weller's Antique has been one of the better ones for me to date. The previous posts have aptly described the taste and I agree with them. It has a rich flavor that's enjoyable to me on the rocks without any bite to it, which is remarkable considering its proof. I look forward to getting to the other bourbons in the Weller family.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyamnesia Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 wow. last night. already. the bottle is empty. i am getting to appreciate a SMALL drop or two of water...i am sensing the nice changes of a pour opening up...without any real 'dilution'...i think Antique mellowed down to an invisible fiery heat of 105 tasted wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Still new to the bourbon world, but I really enjoyed this. It is the first brand I've tried that is over 100 proof. I had it neat and with a splash of water, and I enjoyed it both ways. I think I preferred it with water, probably because the higher proof. Either way, it was very good and a great value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianT Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I have the added benefit of enjoying a Single Barrel, non-chill filtered Antique done for a store in KY a year or two ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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