The Hot Pepper

Buffalo Trace

seconded - any of the van winkle bourbons from BT will fit the bill

Van Winkle is not on a budget and Buffalo Trace isn't considered wheated according to their distillery tour I was on in April. The distillery does however make a wheated bourbon under the name W L Weller. Its pretty good.

Odd: http://www.buffalotracemediakit.com/bourbons.html#van_winkle
from the website: "The wheat in the recipe is quite obvious as this delightful bourbon passes over your tongue." I've not been to the distillery though, so thanks for the correction. :)

You are correct that Van Winkle is wheated, its just not a whiskey for a budget buy. Regular BT bourbon isnt a wheated bourbon is what I was saying. WL Weller is the wheated brand.

You are correct that Van Winkle is wheated, its just not a whiskey for a budget buy. Regular BT bourbon isnt a wheated bourbon is what I was saying. WL Weller is the wheated brand.

Thanks!

Rawk, so you liked the W.L. Weller? I was leaning towards that. The Special Reserve and Old Weller Antique are available over here. Which one did you try? I hear the 12yr is about as close to Pappy as most people are ever gonna get.

We have the special reserve, I haven't really had much of it, I'll drink it tonight and get back to you. My bartender friend, whose opinion I hold very highly, loves the 12 yr, its one of her favorite bourbons, and the guy that runs the distillery here in chicago also recommended that we try the 12 year.

jeez, American liquor must be expensive as hell in Japan

Helvete, actually if you look hard enough you can find pretty good deals. I think Weller Special Reserve has an average retail price of about $25 aggregate across the US, which is about how much I am looking to pay here. Standard stuff like Jim Beam and Evan Williams are equivalent in pricing as well if I am correct. As is Four Roses, although that one is now owned by Kirin so go figure. I hated Four Roses back in the day, but apparently its really good now that Kirin owns the brand.<br...

Bah, cut offs.

Rawk, the 12 yr is supposed to be very close to Pappy Van Winkle Lot B. It's also very hard to find these days for that reason alone, people snatch it up pretty quick.

Alright, so I really like this weller whiskey. Straight it is a bit harsh, but I have been spoiled with Blanton's as of recently. I don't usually like to put ice in my whiskey but I put a couple cubes in tonight, and I enjoyed the weller's much much more. I feel like it cut some of the harsh bite and brought out the barrel flavors more. I think I paid $23 for the bottle, not bad at all seeings as how Beam is only about 5 bucks less.

Cools, I will probably be picking up a bottle of the special reserve as well. It's about $25 from the place I am looking at. Was that Blanton's Original (White label) that you have? I have been eyeballing that for a bit as well. It runs between 40-50 here depending on where you get it.

you guys rock. I've never had the Wellers, but I'll be picking some up shortly.

Smokefire, see if they can give you a sample when you go. That way you'll know if you like it. ;-)

I guess its the Original Blantons? It comes in a short almost roundish bottle with a jockey cork. It's a single barrel and the label is a thin paper strip around the center. Direct from the distillery it cost $56. I saw it at a liquor store here for 72!