The BTAC Gods showed mercy this year and provided me with a bottle of Thomas H. Handy which is fantastic. A good whiskey friend of mine, Tim, wanted a sample of said Handy and in return hit me with some of this year’s William Larue Weller expression.
The lone wheater of the BTAC line, WLW stood in the top 5 Bourbons for me when I was first getting into whiskey so I can’t wait to see how this release will hold up now.
A little north of 13,000 bottles were released this year and coming in at a stout 135.4 proof this little sample has me all riled up. Let’s get some.
Company: Sazerac
Distillery: Buffalo Trace
Mash Bill: BT Wheated Mashbill
Age: 12 years, 7 months
ABV: 62.7% (135.4 proof)
Released: Fall 2016
Price: $90
Color: Deep amber-ish honey
Nose: The aroma is huge with that delicious alcohol, so let it hang for a bit before diving in so you don’t melt your brain. Once settled the aroma comes in as sweet with almost some barnyard funk to it. Caramel, cotton candy, and vanilla steal the show but that funk is still there and kind of distracts me. Holy crap I just realized it smells like the fair! Ok I like it now.
Taste: The first thing that hit me was a big nuttiness, then a huge blast of heat from the alcohol. The texture is super velvety and oily which is really nice, and there is a load of nutmeg showing up that is almost overpowering. Could be because of the time of year, but I just got a very distinct egg nog flavor from this Bourbon which I’ve definitely never experienced before. Along with the nog is some sweet fruity things and a nice oak backbone.
Finish: The finish is incredibly sweet with candy fruit flavors, nutmeg, and butterscotch. I’m a huge fan of sweet finishes and this one goes on for days so I’m just sitting here enjoying it.
Overall: The first time I tasted William Larue Weller back in 2014 I thought it was going to be my favorite whiskey for the rest of my life. While that isn’t exactly true, I still very much enjoy it. The nose on this one has a weird thing going on that knocked it down a bit, but the tasted and especially the finish made up for it.
Thanks to our good friend Tim for the sample and the pic!
Rating: 4/5
