Buffalo Trace Distillery Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon

Posted on December 21, 2022January 3, 2023 by Nick

Released after Passover annually, Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon is made with the same high quality grains as W.L. Weller. As it is kosher, it is only run after all other non-kosher spirit has been cleaned from the line, and then barreled in specific kosher barrels. The whiskey is aged for 7 years, and bottled at 94 proof. The result of all this work with the Chicago Rabbinical Counsel (cRc) is a bottle that retails near $40, and is immediately horded in the current bourbon community. So is it worth the hunt?

Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon

Age: 7 Years
Proof: 94 (47% A.B.V.)

Sight: Chestnut Oloroso Sherry

Smell: The nose starts with a well rounded mix of cherries slathered in caramel sauce and dripped with a bit of vanilla whipped cream. It gives way to a mix of baking spice and stone fruit with a touch of toasted croissant. There’s a little twinge of heat, but it’s more of a brightness than a hotness. Subtle touches of marmalade and berries are in the background with a slight musky note.

Sip: The body starts off light and smooth, before building toward a more moderate, slightly warm steady point. A ton of baked cherries and vanilla come out with a nice amount of caramel. There’s some spice that comes in here, more general cinnamon with light clove, and a good amount of toasty oak. Touches of almond get involved with a bit of pastry marzipan thing.

Savor: The ending carries forward the cherries, toasted oak, slight almond, and a good hint of spice. The finish lingers pleasantly without being aggressive.

Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat is really delightful, with a beautiful emphasis toward the cherries, vanilla, and caramel notes. The touches of almond and toasty oak keep things mellow and still delivers a ton of flavor. The easy going nature means you’re not fighting the proof to enjoy the underlying flavors. While it isn’t overly complex, it feels elegant and well balanced.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan it provides some really beautiful soaring caramel and vanilla creme notes that open up into preserved cherries and hints of blackberry. Plum skin and spice join in, and give it a bit of a kick. Pastry crème and almond round out the background and finish with a little hint of oak. The flavors are clear, concise, and inviting. The drink ends up being a bit more elegant than many barrel proof fans will enjoy, but will lend itself to more vermouth choices.

Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon Compared to Old Weller Antique

While Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon is obviously proofed down, this gives it a little more room to open up to fruitier notes (more stone fruit / marmalade) and more of the floral vanilla / caramel. It still has spice there, but it’s not the dominating cinnamon that W.L. Weller Antique sometimes gives off. This is a much more gentle, subtle, inviting pour on initial impression.

Looking at the side by side, the W.L. Weller Antique screams caramel, cherries, and cinnamon out loud, and then likes to keep the flavor turned up. It has some more fig and dark fruit notes than the Kosher. The finish takes that cinnamon and just keeps it going, where the Kosher is a little more toward the caramel and vanilla notes with a bit of almond. Overall, both are good, but I’d give the edge to the Kosher Wheat, depending on my mood and activity based.

In Review – Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon

As a seasonal release, Buffalo Trace Kosher Wheat Bourbon really doesn’t have an ordinary spot on your bar. Given it’s slightly unique pedigree, you can probably supplant it with normal Buffalo Trace or Weller Special Reserve / Antique, which you probably have to do unless you’re stockpiling it between seasons. That said, I think it is slightly better than either Weller and Buffalo trace for what it offers, but not enough so to justify the mark ups that connect to these Kosher bottles. At $40, this feels about right. At the $90 it can command in the secondary, it’s just beyond the pail for anyone but the most ardent of Buffalo Trace enthusiasts.

W. L. Weller Antique

Posted on July 15, 2022January 9, 2023 by Nick

W. L. Weller Antique, more commonly referred to as Old Weller Antique (OWA), Weller Antique 107, or just red Weller, is a wheated bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery. Thanks to the bourbon craze originally unleashed for Pappy Van Winkle, all things even possibly made of a similar mashbill ended up being chased by bourbon enthusiasts. As a result, cheap bottles like Weller Special Reserve and Weller Antique went from common, cheap, and wildly available to insane secondary values or being used as currency more than they’re consumed. Weller Antique fits squarely into the second half of this, where it more often serves as trade bait than actual drinking whiskey.

W. L. Weller Antique

To start, lets compare Weller Antique to Weller Special Reserve. Purportedly, these wheated bourbons are made of the same mashbill at Buffalo Trace. They’re aged a similar period of time, and then bottled at different proofs. Other than the label, these are the biggest differences.

Sight: Chestnut – oloroso sherry in hue.

Smell: A nice mix of cinnamon and hints of vanilla bean lead things off. Touches of walnut and stone fruit are joined by preserved bing cherries and other dark fruits. There’s also a little bit of roasted honey and a couple of whiffs of heat.

Sip: The mouthfeel is smooth and leads off with caramel and vanilla notes that are immediately inundated with cinnamon and touches of wood smoke. Cherries and hints of fig come out and are joined by oak and brown sugar. The proof isn’t overtly noticeable other than adding some weight to the middling body.

Savor: The ending continues with some oak and a healthy dose of cinnamon bark. It lingers with a good amount of tannins and a hint of tobacco.

W. L. Weller Antique is a nice, easy going sip with a healthy amount of complexity, and clearly defined flavors. The sweet elements are well contrasted with the spice, and there’s just enough dark fruit in there to keep things lively and interesting. The sugars and oak shifting around give layers to the flavor. As a sipper, it’s clearly why W. L. Weller Antique is popular.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan there’s a nice cinnamon and brown sugar play that leads things off. The vermouth gets a good amount of the stage adding in dark berry notes and cherry elements. The oak and tobacco hints come through as well. On the finish, it’s balanced, a touch tannic, and a hint sweet and oaky. Overall, it does well in a Manhattan, but wouldn’t necessarily be a stand out component.

Now that I’ve finished making a bunch of the taters clutch their pearls, let’s move on to the overall.

In Review – W. L. Weller Antique

W. L. Weller Antique is a very nice sipping whiskey, that has a good amount of complexity and friendly flavors. The proof provides a nice amount of punch and flavor without it being pushy. While it does just fine in cocktails, no one is likely buying it for making mixed drinks. There within lies the two problems with OWA.

You probably won’t find OWA at MSRP outside of controlled liquor states. Even then, you likely will need to hunt to find a bottle (and might even need to become a dreaded tater!)
The MSRP is $50. At $50 it’s a good, solid value sipper. It is not, however, particularly deep, interesting, or a good bottle for making cocktails with.

As with all allocated bottles, we can’t recommend W. L. Weller Antique as a bottle to keep on you shelf (due to availability). However, if you do happen to find a bottle at MSRP or a decent priced pour on a restaurant list, it’s worth trying to see if you feel the hype is worth it.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon

Posted on July 2, 2021January 9, 2023 by Nick

There was a time (and in some states still is a time) when you could walk in and purchase a bottle of Eagle Rare in the mid $20 price point. Depending on where you live, Eagle Rare is now a borderline rare bottle that inspires truck chasers to wait in long lines for a chance to sample it. While one can debate the virtue (and value) of doing this, one thing isn’t up for debate. Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon is in fact very tasty for the MSRP.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon

Sight: A beautiful copper that leans toward oloroso sherry.

Smell: Beautiful notes of ripe, red cherries waft out followed by notes of caramel, roasted almonds, and spices ranging from nutmeg to cinnamon. The background has an almost mulled wine like character with cooked berries and orange notes. The nose has just the slightest about of heat and has a good oak backbone that doesn’t shine too aggressively.

Sip: The mouth feel is smooth and the texture is well rounded. The immediate flavor profile starts out with cherries, hints of orange, and touches of caramelized sugar. Hints of plums and spices enter back in before giving way to cigar box, cherry jam, and toasted oak.

Savor: The ending builds on the cherry notes and baking spices. It leans dry, and lingers for a long period of time bringing in more char.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon is delightfully complex and well rounded with a slightly dry finish. The complexity of the nose is matched by the great texture and complex flavor on the palate. The flavor profile is also dynamic, evolving throughout the experience of sipping it. It continues to open up new dimensions of itself. The most impressive part is the value, which at $30 is exceptional.

In Cocktails

Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon plays delightfully in cocktails if you can bring yourself to spare it for the application. The flavors of cherry accentuate the nuances of the sweet vermouth and building on both the spice of the bourbon and the bitters. The net result is a smooth Manhattan that’s well rounded between fruit, spice, and sweetness. In an Old Fashioned, it amplifies the spice elements while providing a red fruit hint from the bourbon.

In Review: Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon

Eagle Rare is an exceptionally good bourbon for the $30 price point. The hardest part of Eagle Rare is reliably finding it. While some states are known to have heavy allocations (to the point that it’s regularly available on their shelves), other states [like Ohio] are subject to some fairly out of control tatering. This could unfortunately means you’ll be driving out of state or sitting in lawn chair on delivery day to try to get bottle of Eagle Rare. That said, if you find it at retail, you should absolutely buy a bottle. The tight supply regrettably means that Eagle Rare will not be added to our recommended list of bottles for starting a home bar.

Eagle Rare Website

W. L. Weller Special Reserve

Posted on August 2, 2019January 9, 2023 by Nick

Back in 2010 I was fortunate enough to Pappy Van Winkle 23 in a bar in Manhattan. Ironically – and at the risk of being called a heathen – I didn’t think much of it – ranking it a solid 3 points out of 10 below the Sunatory 1984. This probably wasn’t a fair comparison either – but apparently I had perfect timing for avoid the hype train that’s been running all over the bourbon world. Uninsulated from this is trend is Weller Special Reserve.

W. L. Weller Special Reserve

Produced at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky, Weller Special Reserve is bottled at 90 proof. While it is bourbon, the mash bill is not listed on the web site – you can assume it’s using wheat as the secondary grain here. It also briefly got caught up in some hype where it underwent multiple comparisons to rejected Pappy or poor mans Pappy. This was mostly due to sharing a distillery at one point. Similarly, I was once in a bar with Jon Hamm – regrettably this doesn’t mean I act like Jon Hamm. Let’s ignore all the hype here and focus on what matter.

Retailing for only $15 a few years ago, Weller Special Reserve has climbed up to a healthy $22 a bottle. This 50% increase in price doesn’t quite put Weller out of reach, but it continues to stretch the value proposition. Weller is a simple, well crafted, wheated bourbon. It starts with pleasant notes of cereal, vanilla, oak, and brown sugar on the nose. The palate is smooth with a hint of an edge, but relaxes into some vanilla, spice, and baked goods. The finish has bits of spice and caramel. Weller is very pleasant.

If you add some water – it doesn’t fall apart. The vanilla gets stronger and a hint of nuttiness comes out. The vanilla keeps coming through the palate and it’s a little more sugary on the ending.

It’s a thoroughly nice bourbon. Unsurprisingly – I enjoy Maker’s Mark as well as Weller. Those who enjoy a healthy touch of rye may leave disappointed – and might be better served by Elijah Craig Small Batch.

In Cocktails

Obviously, feel free to use this in whatever you like – but I’ve found that Weller Special Reserve works well in Manhattans. The sweeter notes play well with the vermouth, and the bitters help to replace some of the missing rye notes without overpowering the drink.

Perhaps from the dilution – it doesn’t quite hold it’s own as well in an old fashioned as a regular bourbon like Elijah Craig Small Batch.

The Final Word – Weller Special Reserve

Weller Special Reserve is a nice sipper, and something you won’t be loathe to use in a cocktail. Is it the most versatile bourbon in history? No, but it doesn’t have to be. Weller Special Reserve is a solid budget addition to a whiskey collection for sipping. Keep your expectations in check and there’s a lot to like here.

Others Share Their Thoughts on Weller Special Reserve:

Cocktails to feature W.L. Weller Special Reserve

Raw Notes

Nick: A beautiful amber hue. A wonderful cereal note wafts up with a hint of spice and vanilla. Touches of raisin and baked goods join in. There’s a mild burn as it starts – but it relaxes and gives way to vanilla, oak, and spices – like allspice and clove mixed and muddle. The ending has hints of black pepper, caramel, and coffee. Adding water – the nose softens – moving heavily into vanilla syrup and hints of spice. The edges of raisins soften – and have a hint of almond. The body is still warm – but caramel and vanilla dominate with loads of oak and spice. There is more sweetness – and it’s well rounded. On the finish it becomes more nutty – and opens into elements of cookie and sugar.

Ann Marie: The nose is full of sweet, dark brown sugar with hints of cinnamon and oak. A hint of orange and vanilla extract. Undiluted: Oak on the palate with vanilla and baked goods and spice. When the water is added – a vanilla biscuit comes forward and almonds and brown sugar hold strong. The palate has more spice come forward – rich and thick – mouth coating. It lingers with hints of dark molasses