Old Weller Antique 107 is next up on the reviews list. This one is another the Buffalo Trace distillery, and while it isn’t released as part of the antique collection, it is a little bit more difficult to find. It is at 107 proof (53.5% ABV), and you can feel it once you take the sip.
Let’s start off with the nose of this one, which wafts up with vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch scents, that is accompanied by a lot of wood. The wood smell is present, but not overpowering, which is nice on this because the bourbon itself has such a great nose to it.
Going onto the palate, when you take the first sip, it starts off a little hot and thin, which is not quite what I expected. However, it quickly opens on the mid palate with some grain and a little spice, and the wood notes start to play in here. It ends with a sweet honey, vanilla, and caramel finish that hangs around for a little bit after the sip. What I think is the wheat on the mid palate gives it a little bit of a spice that is still sweet, which compliments the other notes of the bourbon perfectly, leading smoothly and directly into the finish. As always, I added a little bit of water to see how that affected it. With the water, the heat on the front dies down a little, which is to be expected, but the sweetness really blossoms with the flavors of honey and the caramel from the oak. The finish still hangs around too, something that I really like to see after water is added, or an ice cube is allowed to melt just a bit.
Overall, I will give this bourbon an 85/100. The hot on the start will probably force some people away from it, but it is complex, and really fills out despite being a little thin to start.
