W. L. Weller Old Weller Antique 107° (NAS)

This particular bottle is a part of the W.L. Weller line-up. Aka"The original wheated bourbon" This bottle replaced the 7 year variant at the same proof (107). The replacement has no age statement, which is a shame but I wasn't entirely disturbed by this or I wouldn't have bought it. This bottle is the first step in my journey of exploring lesser known gems of the middle shelf. I plan to acquire over time Old Fitz 12, Old Grandad 114, W.L. Weller 12, Old Forester, Old Foresters Birthday Bourbon, Elmer T. Lee, and Fighting Cock 6yr. Anyways this bottling was tried neat and with a little distilled water.

Neat:

Nose: A slight alcoholic tinge but this is at 53.5 ABV by the way, sweet with (bubble gum?), caramel and butterscotch. This seems a little restrained lets see if water helps later on.

Body: Very slow and thick legs upon gentle swirling, thick and coating mouthfeel.

Taste: Slightly sweet with caramel, honey, a little vanilla, and wheat notes. Slight spicy notes in mid palate bring a little balance. This isn't a complex whiskey but it is a nice little after dinner sipper though. At the price point ($24 USD with sales tax) this is an easy daily dram.

Finish: A slightly warming finish that ends rather shortly with gentle butterscotch notes. There does seem to be wheat notes in the form of wheat bread that seems to linger a little longer.

Overall: This isn't a bad whiskey, not perfect either but lets see what happens with a little water. I added 1 teaspoon or about 5ml of distilled water to about 1.25 ounces of whiskey.

With water:

Nose: A bit more open then the non-diluted nose with originally mentioned sweet notes, with added notes of ripe banana, and magnified caramel notes.

Body: Diluted of course due to the added water.

Taste: Diluting this whiskey brought out more wheat notes. It seems to have demolished the sweet notes. A bit of a let down, but its due to pilot error.

Finish: With the dilution I noticed its still warming yet shorter, there is a noticed bitterness and the dulling of the spices.

Overall: I wish I didn't add the water. Buy possibly I added too much water, maybe Ill use an 1/8th or a 1/4 of a teaspoon to the ratio of 1.25 ounces.

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