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To celebrate the 50th episode of the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, I’m reviewing William Larue Weller bourbon, a part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (2021). This epic conclusion to Season 1 of the Bourbon Bytes Podcast is a tribute to the Patreon supporters and listeners of the podcast who have supported me over the past year. Subscribe to Bourbon Bytes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BourbonBytes Watch us play Dungeons and Drams every Monday: https://www.youtube.com/DungeonsandDrams Support the Channel on Patreon for Exclusive Hangouts and Early Video Access: http://www.Patreon.com/BourbonBytes Follow and Subscribe on Twitch for Gaming Streams: https://www.twitch.tv/bourbonbytes Find the Whiskey & Gaming Lounge Discord Server and other links: http://BourbonBytes.com
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Today, on a special edition of the Bourbon Bites podcast, I'm celebrating 50 episodes
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with a review of William LaRue Weller from 2021. Hello everyone and welcome to the 50th episode of the Bourbon Bites podcast
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I'm your host, Clifton, and I am both excited and a little, little somber about today's episode
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First of all, let's be excited for 50 episodes. I started this podcast last October, didn't necessarily expect to do it week to week
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but I've been keeping up with it pretty much every week that I can, with the exception
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of, you know, holidays and vacations. I'm really proud to have made 50 episodes of the podcast
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I've really loved diving into the news from video games to whiskey, as well as reviewing
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whiskeys that I haven't had a chance to review on YouTube. Not just that, but just the freedom of an
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audio platform. It's something that I've never really had experience with before the podcast
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It's definitely a lot different than things like YouTube videos or even live streams. Just knowing
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that you guys are listening in week to week and, you know, commenting, whether it's on Discord or
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sending me emails, you guys have made it all worth it. And I'm so proud to be here at the 50th episode
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But here comes the not so exciting news. So as many of you know, my life situation has kind of
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been a bit of a whirlwind lately. At the end of May, I got laid off from my position of seven years
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That was definitely unexpected. But fortunately, just last week, I started a brand new job. And
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it's really, really exciting because it's the closest thing to a dream job I've ever had
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So I've always wanted to work with a major studio in the film or TV industry and wasn't really sure
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exactly what I wanted to do there. And even now, I'm not necessarily sure. But I feel like this is
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the biggest, you know, step forward in my career that I've ever had. And with that, I really want to
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give it my all because like I said, this kind of feels like a breakthrough and it feels like an
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opportunity that I want to just go hard at. And I've already kind of been spreading thin my free
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time during the week. Usually with a podcast, I would record it on Wednesday, edit on Thursday
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before the live stream, and then hopefully get it up by Friday morning. And right now I feel like I
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have to make a tough decision on how to spend that time wisely. And most of you guys know this
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but my absolute favorite thing to do are my Thursday night live streams on YouTube
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whether it's a blind flight interviewing, you know, master distillers or community streams or
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whatever I'm doing. Those are what I look forward to every week. And I really love putting my all
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into those. So I've had to make the decision that for now, again, this is just as I get settled into
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this new life change, I've decided that this episode will be the last episode of season one
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of the Bourbon Bites podcast. And I say that because I'm not, you know, saying that I will
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never return to an audio format again. I've loved what I built with the podcast. I love that there's
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a whole new, I guess, listener base that I don't necessarily see on my live streams. I appreciate
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that and I acknowledge that and I don't want to say that I'm leaving the audio platform forever
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Maybe once I get settled into the new job, I found out I have more free time or maybe I even revisit
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the format and, you know, maybe do like a monthly update or, you know, focus on very special releases
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I'm really excited about. And I really hope you guys understand this decision. I definitely didn't
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you know, think of it lightly. I pondered this for a couple of weeks. I even brought it up to my
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patrons on a Discord hangout recently. And I think it's just the best decision for me right now. I
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don't want you guys to get the impression you know that I'm being lazy and I'm just not keeping up with it I just need to strategize my time that I spend with the whole bourbon bites platform and
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just seeing you guys every Thursday night is what makes my week so that's where I want to put my
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focus in right now but I definitely didn't want to end the podcast without reviewing one of the
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best whiskeys I own and it's all thanks to you guys so to keep it short I had a small group of
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patrons that reached out when I lost my job in May and they want to do something you know special
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for me and just let me know that they're here for me. And they actually sent me this bottle of 2021's William LaRue Weller
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And if you guys know me, that's been kind of my unicorn bottle. Just any of the WLWs
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It just every year I just get so excited to see what that whiskey will be And up until this point I really only tried one of them before and that was at a casino bar that I definitely overpaid for And I debated whether I wanted to review this because you know just the gesture of receiving this bottle
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I definitely cried when I got it. I definitely don't want to undermine the enormous generosity of these patrons
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And I'll leave them anonymous. They know who they are. I just don't want to call out names that have sent me this bottle
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It really does mean a lot to me. And I actually waited to open it until I got the new job
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So this bottle has only been opened for a few weeks. I've definitely shared it as well, just because I'm so excited about it
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And, you know, of course, some of the people that sent me the bottle now have samples of it. And some of them I'm still working on getting the samples
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But I do plan to share the generosity with those that were involved with that gift
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But I figured for the 50th episode, you know, the final episode of season one of the podcast, I would review the 2021 William LaRue Weller
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So this release comes in at 125.3 proof. And in case you didn't know, this is the Buffalo Trace Weeded Mashbill
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So similar to the Weller 107, the Special Reserve, that same Mashbill
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But this one is a 12-year, 6-month cask strength expression of Weller
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Now, of course, this is part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. This was last year's from October 2021
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I know we're gearing up for the 2022 one. I'm going to shoot my shot at getting some media samples to review
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Keep your fingers crossed for me. But I figured I never reviewed this ever on my channel or podcast, so I wanted to save it for, you know, a special occasion such as this
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Now, MSRP on this is still $99. Of course, this is unheard of unless you just know the right guy
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Most people are either getting it in lotteries or they're paying a lot extra on secondary
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I believe, now I don't know if they're lying to me, I believe my friends got this at a price not much over retail
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And I hope so. I hope they didn't overspend on this because trust me, I'm not worthy
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so of course I will be judging it at the $99 price but we all know that there's some there's
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some forces beyond the control of Buffalo Trace that that control the pricing on this one now
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I've actually had this in the glass for a little while I did want it to open up because I want to
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give it you know the best review I can in this moment and I gotta mention in the glass it looks
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beautiful it has a really nice dark color to it darker for sure than you know some of the other
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Buffalo Trace Weller products I've had and I think that's a combination of the age and the fact that
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This is so high proof. Let's go in and give it a nose. Oh, yes, that is everything I want a bourbon to be
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And I feel like I said that from the first moment I tried it at that casino bar. It is just, you know, the perfect expression of bourbon
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And I got to say, I haven't, you know, revisited this since accepting the job offer a few weeks
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back, but man, this just smells just as great as ever. There's a really big, bold fruitiness up front on the nose
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It's reminding me of like a cherry, kind of typical Buffalo Trace cherry note, but it
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has a lot more going on that I think makes it unique. It's not necessarily like a stag or a stag junior on the nose
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Stags to me are cherry bombs. This is a nice cherry essence that's combined with a really nice oaky backbone
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I mean, on the nose, I mean, I don't want to say one note because that's normally negative
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connotations, but this is a cohesive note. It is a cherry. It is an oakiness
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It is a vanilla. it's just all wrapped into this perfect nose that all hits you at once
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It's not like the cherries up front and then the oaks like on the back part of the nose. It definitely just all comes together in one
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You can just tell that this is going to be a hot whiskey. It's very warming on the nose and I'm just ready to get it on the palate
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So cheers to you all. Cheers to the podcast and cheers to those special patrons that made this possible
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Holy moly, is that a bourbon. This is the first thing I've drank all day, so it's definitely getting me with that proof, and I like it
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I like it a lot. And the palate is definitely more complex than the nose
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Like I said, the nose, it kind of was a very cohesive, you know, again, one note is not the right word because it's such a fantastic note
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but it was definitely like a, you know, one whiff experience. You got it all in one, you know, big whiff of it
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But on the palate, this is such a complex, evolving whiskey. There's so many layers to dissect here
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I mean, up front you're getting that fruitiness, a bit of that cherry. It's like a sweet cherry
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Not necessarily like a fresh cherry, but almost like a Luxardo cherry that you would put in an old-fashioned or a Manhattan
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It has that sweet, syrupy element to it. And there's almost like a tartness that follows
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It kind of like a sour cherry candy And then following that it hit with a vanilla sweetness And it interesting because usually I get vanilla on younger whiskeys I think it it the more dominant note but this one a darker vanilla it almost like a vanilla bean like like a really rich vanilla it not necessarily
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the super sweet marshmallow-y kind of vanilla it's definitely a darker richer maybe even french
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vanilla note but as it nears the finish it kind of gets spicy again but it's a different kind of
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spice than up front this is more of like um I don't know if it's whether it's minty or like
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cinnamon, it's kind of got some of that cooling element on the back end. And talk about length of
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finish. I mean, this is long, one of the longest finishes I've had in a whiskey. And you know
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that's to be expected with it being a part of the antique collection. These are some of the best
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whiskeys that Buffalo Trace puts out. And yeah, now that I've kind of let it finish, it kind of
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definitely leans towards like cinnamon candy on the back of the palate. And this is going to sound
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really bad, but it kind of reminds me of like a fireball shot on the finish. I know that's
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I'm probably the only person ever to compare William LaRue Weller to Fireball
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I mean, Sazerac does make them both. But I mean that it has that cooling, minty, kind of like tingly spice on the back end at the very, very end of the finish
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But that's after you've experienced this wonderful flavor bomb of cherry and oak and vanilla
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The spice really does come back on the end. Now, I've heard that this year's release of WLW is very different from other ones
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And I don't have anything to compare it to. Like I said, I did try, I believe it was the 2018 release, and it was back-to-back with the Eagle Rare 18 of that year
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So it's really hard to make a comparison directly to that, and I've not been fortunate enough to try, you know, every year's WLW as much as I would love to
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So I'm just judging this based on the fact that this is my first bottle I've ever had of it
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and it's my first time that I've had to really dive deep and really get these tasty notes and review it for you guys
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And every time I come back to it and take another sip, it just gets me. The heat just keeps going
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I mean, this whiskey doesn't settle down. You know, your palate acclimates to it a bit, but the heat and the intensity and the boldness of this whiskey just are ever present
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Now, this may be a sin, but I would like to put a couple drops of water into this one just to kind of see what happens when I reduce that heat down a bit
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So I've used my pipette to put about five drops of water into it just to see what happens and see if it opens up a bit
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So I'll let that sit for a bit and I'll chime back in about, you know, ending the podcast
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If you guys feel like, oh no, I'll never keep up with Cliffy anymore, don't worry
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I'm still staying on the internet. I'm not going anywhere. So if you do just happen to listen to the podcast, let me share with you where you can find me once I'm not as active here
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Most importantly, you can find me on YouTube. I still plan to keep up the Thursday night live streams, 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern
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I know that's late for a lot of you guys, so feel free to watch the replay. I'm going to do better about making it appropriate as an audio format as well
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So instead of just reacting to chats I see, I'm going to actually read them out as well and put them on the screen if you're watching the replay
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I want to make it as accessible as possible to everyone, especially if you're used to listening as an audio format
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If you want to interact with me beyond the live streams, y'all know I shout out my Discord server all the time
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But especially now, I think this is a really good time to join if you are at all interested in the news that I normally share on the podcast
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I actually just updated the Whiskey News channel on the Discord. So now it's sort of like a kind of like a forum
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So there's like different links for each news article. So as those come in, I'm going to be sharing them on the Discord as well as Facebook
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I've been using Facebook a lot lately for breaking news. So if you're not yet following me on Facebook, facebook.com slash bourbon bites
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Give me a like there. We actually just hit a thousand likes today, which is crazy
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It just seems like everything's lining up today to make it just the perfect day to celebrate with this WLW and just, you know, chat with you guys
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I'll put the links to everything down in the description below this episode. So you can join the Discord and Facebook and all that jazz
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If you do want to show your support for the channel even further, you can consider joining the Patreon
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Patreon.com slash Bourbon Bites. I have that set up for as little as $2 a month
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You can get early access to my videos, vote and polls to shape the future of the channel
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and just get weekly updates on things going on in my life and upcoming things I'm excited about for the channel
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Of course, at the higher tiers, you get access to some really fun things. I'll just touch on them again because like I said, you know, last episode and all
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The $5 tier gets you access to our monthly hangout that happens once a month
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The $10 tier gets you access to our after party hangout, which is after every Thursday night live stream
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Of course, some of these higher tiers come with perks like my challenge coins that I send out
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So if you are curious about any of that, all the details are on Patreon. So usually the and up is where you get access to the physical perks At the tier I have set aside time to do a personal hangout with everyone at that tier if they so like Then the tier which is my next to highest tier that is where you get access to the monthly subscription box tasting
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Now, officially I can't say what you get every month, but I will say it tastes really good
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So I do a curated tasting for everyone at that tier based on what I know you like or what we've done before
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and sometimes it's themed, sometimes it's blind. It's just a ton of fun. And a big shout out to Todd Cooper, who is the current patron of that level
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He's been supporting me for many, many months and we have a ton of fun. So there's a few more spots open if anyone wants to join us for the monthly tasting box
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And finally, my $100 tier, which is my Bourbon Daddy. You get everything below included as well as my phone number
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And it's just there for when you're feeling extra generous and want to be my daddy for a month
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But whatever level you join, I just want to say how much I appreciate it, how much it supports me, and it really encourages me to go out and, you know, buy the latest bottles or pick up several things for a stream
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That money really does go directly into the channel and the bottles and equipment that I buy for that
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And to not leave anything out, you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at Bourbon Bites
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Or if you forgot any of these links, you can just go to bourbonbites.com and there's a link tree of every single thing that I do right there
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So before we wrap up, let's revisit this WLW with some water added
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I will say the nose changed a little bit. It's more of the vanilla sweetness up front
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The fruitiness has kind of taken a backseat to the vanilla with the water added
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It's still a little spicy from the oak, but yeah, it definitely smells like a much sweeter bourbon
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Let's give it a taste. Oh yeah, similar to the nose, this one's sweetened up with the water
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Now it's kind of still got some of those cherry notes, but it's more of like a vanilla cherry
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kind of swirl. Maybe like one of those cream savers. I don't think they had cherry, but I think they had strawberry, but it's kind of reminding me of
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a creamy cherry. It does tone down the finish as well. Weirdly enough, I feel like we lose a lot of
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the oak aspect of this. So that, that oakiness that was driving the palette up front on the
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without water is definitely, I mean, it's, I don't want to say gone, but it's definitely not the
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focus. It's definitely more, way more vanilla forward. Now the finish also changes. It's
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it's not that cinnamon, you know, heat that I was getting before. It still has more of that
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mintiness so it kind of does still have a cooling sensation but it's less cinnamon and maybe even
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more licorice with with some water. It's just so crazy to me how different the experience is now
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that I've added the water. I will say I prefer it neat but I think you know this almost makes it for
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a different audience. So if you do like your whiskey a little sweeter and you like it maybe
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not quite as high proof definitely consider adding some water or even an ice cube to this
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I think it will bring out other flavors that if you don't love the original flavor you might like
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it with some water or some ice. So now it comes time to rate this release. So if you don't know
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my scoring system here is out of eight because I love all things 8-bit. And this William Leroux
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Weller from 2021, the 125.3 proof release, is getting a, you guys already know, eight out of
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eight, a perfect score. There's really nothing I would change about this bottle other than making
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it more available. It's the perfect definition of an uncut, unfiltered bourbon, especially with a
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weeded mash bill and just having that high age statement, this is just an incredible bourbon
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If you have the opportunity to ever try one, even if you overpay a little bit at a bar like I did
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definitely give it a shot. I promise you, you will not be disappointed in the quality of this whiskey
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I am so grateful for the opportunity to have tried this bottle. Again, thank you to those
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patrons that contributed, and thank you to everyone that just sent me messages of support over the
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past few months. It's been crazy, like I said. It's definitely had its ups and downs, but I'm
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really excited for, like I said, the future of this job and really, really going to put my all
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into it. So with that, I hope you guys aren't too upset about the podcast ending for now. Again
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this isn't goodbye forever. It's just goodbye for now. Thank you so much for listening to season one
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Hopefully I'll be picking up season two in the indefinite future, hopefully sooner rather than
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later. But until next time, I just want to say thank you and how much I appreciate you and love
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you and hope you'll stay in touch with me on other platforms. So this has been the Bourbon
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Bytes podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. I'm your host Clifton. Cheers, and I'll see
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you on YouTube
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