Weller 12 Year For Sale Online

Weller 12 Year Bourbon

If you’ve spent any time in bourbon circles, you’ve probably heard someone call this bottle “baby Pappy.” It’s not just hype talk, Weller and Van Winkle bourbons come from the same wheated mash bill recipe at Buffalo Trace, which is exactly why this one gets snapped up almost as fast as it hits shelves.

At 12 years old and bottled at 90 proof, this sits right in the sweet spot of the Weller lineup — older and more refined than the Special Reserve, but a little easier to find (relatively speaking) than the Full Proof or Single Barrel releases.

What Does Weller 12 Year Actually Taste Like?

Pour it and you’ll get caramel and toffee right away, backed by vanilla and a light touch of orange peel. There’s oak in there too, but it never turns harsh, that’s the wheat talking. Instead of the black pepper bite you’d get from a rye-heavy bourbon, this one stays soft and a little sweet all the way through, finishing with a bit of leather and dried fruit that lingers longer than you’d expect from a 90-proof pour.

Why Wheated Bourbon Tastes Different

Most bourbons use rye as the flavoring grain. Weller uses wheat instead, and it’s the reason this bourbon (and its Van Winkle cousins) drink so smooth. Less spice, more roundness, it’s a completely different personality than something like a high-rye bourbon, even though both start from the same basic corn-based mash bill requirement.

Who Makes Weller 12 Year?

Every bottle in the W.L. Weller lineup, including this one, is distilled at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. The brand actually predates Buffalo Trace itself, it’s named after William Larue Weller, one of the earliest distillers credited with using wheat instead of rye in bourbon, back in the 1800s. So in a lot of ways, this bottle is the original blueprint that Van Winkle (and every other wheated bourbon) followed.

Why Is Weller 12 Year So Hard to Find?

Simple answer: everybody wants it, and Buffalo Trace only makes so much of it. Weller 12 Year sits in an odd spot where it’s technically not as “hyped” as Pappy, but it shares enough DNA with it that demand has outpaced supply for years now. When we get an allocation, it doesn’t last.

Should You Buy This One?

If you like Buffalo Trace’s wheated style but don’t want to pay Pappy-level markups (or wait years for a shot at a bottle), this is genuinely one of the best ways to get that flavor profile without needing a lottery win. It works well neat, and honestly holds its own in a well-made Old Fashioned too, the sweetness doesn’t disappear under the sugar and bitters the way a lot of other bourbons do.

What’s the difference between Weller 12 and Weller Full Proof?

Weller 12 is bottled at 90 proof for a smoother, more approachable pour, while Weller Full Proof is bottled at the barrel entry proof (114) for a bigger, more intense version of the same flavor profile.

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If you enjoy this one, check out our Weller Full Proof for a bigger, punchier version of the same profile, or our Van Winkle 12 Year to see how the two compare side by side.

Specifications

Gain more insight on Buffalo Trace Distillery’s website.