Weller Antique 107, Single Barrel Select, Fine Wine & Good Spirits Barrel #304

(Release for Pennsylvania, Fall 2019)

Color: A beautiful, rich reddish amber.

Nose: soft, with little alcohol despite the relatively high 107 proof. Fresh oak, vanilla, ginger, clove and citrus aromas waft gently from the glass. Something mysteriously savory sits in the background, waiting to come out.

Palate: burnt sugar, caramel more than vanilla (though both are present). Oak is present, with just a hint of tannin. Faint spices are there, but too subtle to appreciate fully.

Adding three drops of water from a pipette did nothing to the color, but the nose opened up with dark fruits of plum and black cherry and a generic nuttiness in front of a savory aroma akin to homemade chicken soup. The three drops of water did even out the dram a bit, allowing the caramel to be paralleled by the clove and cinnamon that was absent before.

Finish is medium to long with the dark fruits, spices and citrus standing up to the oak tannin. The sweetness does make it through the finish. Mouthfeel is moderate viscosity, with all the flavors getting the salivary glands into full action.

Antique 107 is one of this writer’s favorite reasonably priced bourbons. Yes, it is missing the spice of a rye mash bill bourbon, but for those who prefer bourbon with less of a sharp edge, this is one of the finer wheated bourbons one is going to get to drink. This staple of the Buffalo Trace lineup is highly sought after, especially if one can obtain it at retail. This bottle was purchased in October 2019 for $39.99 plus sales tax at the Philadelphia Magazine / PA LCB spirits extravaganza at Lincoln Financial Field. I should have bought more. It is a very easy drinker and friends can do a great deal of damage to a bottle in an evening. The secondary market for this expression of Buffalo Trace juice is crazy. It is hard to find Weller Antique at standard retail, so folks often pay over $100 for this American classic.

Cheers!