Up next in 10
Maker’s Mark x Dodgers Review, Announcing Weller 18 & Old Forester 1910 Extra Exra Old
May 4, 2026
This week on the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, Clifton takes you behind the blue wax to review the Maker’s Mark Champion Selection, handpicked by the Los Angeles Dodgers to celebrate their 2024 World Series win. He dives into hot whiskey headlines—Buffalo Trace's bold Weller 18 release, heirloom corn making waves at craft distilleries, and Old Forester’s 1910 Extra Extra Old. Plus, find out which distillery just dominated the 2025 New Orleans Spirits Competition.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, Buffalo Trace yet again releases two new wheat whiskeys
0:06
We talk about some distilleries getting nerdy with their corn varieties. And Heaven Hill wins big at the 2025 New Orleans Spirits competition
0:13
Plus, we'll find out if the Los Angeles Dodgers Maker's Mark champion selection is a foul ball or a home run
0:30
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Bourbon Bites podcast. Whiskey reviews with a gaming twist
0:37
I'm your host, Clifton, and welcome to the week of Thursday, July 31st
0:41
Just like I said last week, the summer is flying by, but hopefully you guys are enjoying it
0:46
I just went to the Orange County Fair over the weekend. Had to have some fair food with some fried pickles and some fried Oreos and a lot of carne asada
0:54
I always feel like the fair rejuvenates me a bit. I guess maybe just because I've been going since I was, you know, younger
0:58
but um i just like you know going right around sunset you know people watching just kind of
1:03
enjoying the vibes so i don't know are you a fair person or are you a um absolutely not fair person
1:08
because i feel like there's two different types of people right either you're really excited about
1:12
the really greasy bad for you food or you think you're too good for it okay not really like that
1:17
but i don't know i get some people may not like it but for me i do enjoy to indulge a little bit
1:21
when i can kind of reminds me of the south and all the great eats we had uh back there although i
1:27
don't think California fairs compete on the level of state fairs in the south or maybe even the
1:31
Midwest. I think we kind of have that that area beat but everything else I think you know
1:36
entertainment wise is better out here but I gotta say a southern fair in the fall is just you know
1:42
my happy place. But we're not here to talk about that. We are here to talk about the latest and
1:47
greatest news in the world of whiskey and review something cool and I think this bottle is very
1:52
appropriate for me to be talking about California vibes because later on in the review I'll be
1:57
reviewing the special edition LA Dodgers champion selection from Maker's Mark. I saw this bottle go
2:03
on sale and I thought it was just a fancy wax but no there is much more to it so we'll get into that
2:08
later. We got some news to get into first to pour yourself a glass or a cup of coffee depending on
2:13
when you're listening to this and stay tuned for the news. I feel like we start off every week with
2:18
the Buffalo Trace story but they're just really coming out with a ton of news around the time that
2:22
I'm restarting this podcast. So last week we talked about the new E.H. Taylor Distillers Council
2:26
release. Well Buffalo Trace is back at it again with a brand new, not one, but two releases
2:32
announced this week, including Weller 18, which is the oldest age stated whiskey in the Weller
2:37
lineup to date. Now this isn't your ordinary Weller. This one comes in a very special box
2:43
It's very reminiscent of the Double Eagle Very Rare presentation. Beautiful glass decanter. It is
2:49
coming as a travel retail exclusive. Coming in at 90 proof and aged 18 years, it's only going to be
2:55
available at select international airport duty-free shops, including LAX, which I happen to live right
3:01
by, JFK, and LHR. But what's unique is Weller 18 is not the same mash bill as the traditional Weller
3:08
so it's not the same, you know, high wheat bourbon mash bill that we see in like Weller 12, Weller
3:13
Special Reserve, Antique. Now this is technically a wheat whiskey, which means it's made with at
3:19
least 51% wheat in the mash bill. Buffalo Trace isn't going to reveal the mash bill just like they
3:24
don't own most of their products, but we do know that it's legally a wheat whiskey and that it's
3:28
different than the other well-known leaded bourbons like Weller and Pappy and things like that. It's
3:33
its own mash bill. Now Harlan Wheatley, who is Buffalo Trace's master distiller, says that Weller
3:38
18 is the culmination of curiosity, tradition, and time. Wheat has a softness that can sometimes get
3:44
lost with age. But here, it's evolved into something rich and beautifully expressive
3:48
We're extremely proud of the resulting whiskey, which showcases the versatility and potential of
3:53
a wheat-forward mash bill. I think it's interesting that they did stray away from the traditional
3:58
weeded bourbon mash bill that they have on other Weller products. I guess it's good that they went
4:03
with a different bottle design, because if this had just been like a Weller 12, but they changed
4:07
the 12 to an 18, they colored it purple, I don't know, whatever color that would come up next
4:11
I think people would be very confused about why it's a different mash bill but this one comes in
4:16
a crystal decanter very similar to the one for the Weller Millennium which we'll talk about in just a
4:20
second and it has a sliding presentation case which is kind of what reminded me of the Double
4:24
Eagle Very Rare so it's not quite you know that level of presentation but it definitely very unique
4:30
looking suggested retail on it is $499 for a 700 milliliter bottle what can I say right about Weller
4:37
it's like it's so hard to kind of get a read on if that's a good price or a bad price I know people
4:40
pay a ton of money for other Weller products. I think retail on like the full proof was supposed
4:45
to be 50, but I've seen, you know, pics of it going for like 80 to a hundred dollars, 500 for
4:50
an 18 year old Weller. To me, I think I'll pass on it, you know, unless you guys really convince me
4:56
next time I'm in LAX and you guys are like, Cliff, and you have to try it for the podcast or the
5:00
stream, then maybe you'll convince me. But otherwise, I think I'll pass on it, but it is an
5:05
interesting release. And it's not the only one, because like I said, they're coming out with the
5:09
Weller Millennium 2. This is their second release ever of the Weller Millennium lineup. It was
5:15
introduced last May as the most premium bottle in the entire Weller lineup with a suggested retail
5:20
price of Yes you heard that right retail Now we don know what that going to go for on secondary if it will have a secondary market I don know It always difficult with these
5:34
really high-aged products to tell if they're going to be a huge success. I mean, I just got
5:38
an email from Total Wine recently about a Double Eagle Very Rare, which is probably why it's top of
5:42
mind. They were selling it a bit over retail, but they had it in stock. So it's like, are these really
5:47
selling or are they just kind of selling to the select few mega rich um collectors out there because
5:53
there's a chance that that's the case too but i don't know i think i think it's interesting that
5:57
they're releasing these at the same time because one you know once you hear that this one's $7,500
6:01
uh you look back at that $499 of the weller 18 you're like oh that's not that bad and they do
6:07
come in a similar bottle too so it's like it kind of depends like what is your level of collector to me i don't know i'm a i'm a bourbon drinker versus a bourbon collector i think i won't be
6:15
picking up either of them. But yeah, if I was going to buy one just to have, I'm definitely more in the
6:20
$4.99 range and the $7,500 range. This year's release features a marriage of whiskeys distilled
6:25
in 2001, which is 2.9% of it, 2003, which is 46.5% of it, and 2006, which is 50.6% of it
6:35
I'm not good at math, but that does seem to add up to 100. So they do tell you what all is in it
6:40
They don't tell you how much of that is the wheat whiskey and how much of it is the weeded bourbon. but it is coming in at 99 proof now the way to differentiate this between the millennium number
6:49
one release is that one had a white label on it whereas this one has a gold label that kind of
6:54
gives you the details on what's in it now according to Andrew Duncan who is their global brand
6:59
ambassador they think that this edition takes things a step further with a blend that they
7:03
humbly humbly as they release this product believe is an improvement over the well-regarded first
7:09
edition. It says they have revisited a chapter in the distillery's history that shaped who they are
7:13
today with these older whiskeys being part of the blend. Now as with almost every Buffalo Trace
7:18
release this one is going to be highly allocated. They're going to have it available at the Buffalo
7:22
Trace gift shop along with Legacy de Forge which is an online platform created through a collaboration
7:28
between Sazerac and Block Bar. I'm looking at the Legacy de Forge website and it does have the
7:35
listing for the Weller Millennium 2. The auction is live now actually. There's a bid. The starting
7:41
bid is $8,000 which is interesting. Wow okay I need to do a little bit more research on this
7:45
Legacy de Forge website. It seems like this they're kind of auctioning off some Buffalo Trace
7:50
products so that's a topic for another day. I won't speak on what I don't know. That's my lesson
7:55
for today. But what I do know very well is Old Forrester's 1910 Extra Old Bourbon but we're not
8:01
talking the initial release from back in 2021. This is a new addition to the 117 series which
8:06
is their more limited, usually they're sold in 375 bottles releases and they're calling this one
8:12
1910 Extra Extra Old. So it's taking everything that Old Forrester fans love about the 1910
8:19
expression and doubling it. So it's the same process they're gonna do an extra age on it
8:24
So a double barreled whiskey but this one is aged for an additional 24 months in heavily charred
8:29
secondary oak. So that's the same kind of process as the standard 1910, but for a much, much longer
8:36
period of time. They say that this bourbon exemplifies our innovative spirit at Old Forrester
8:41
by taking something great and making it even better. The additional maturation levels to
8:46
produce this release unlocked incredibly robust and distinctive flavor. So fun fact, or I guess
8:51
not so fun fact, the 1910 series is named after a fire that struck the Old Forrester distillery
8:56
back in 1910 and they actually had to take the whiskey out of the existing barrels and put them
9:01
into a new barrel before bottling because of all the fire damage so that re-barreling process is
9:06
what the 1910 old forester 1910 on the whiskey row series is named after but this release as well
9:12
it's supposed to be everything we love about 1910 but with a bolder oak influence and richer flavor
9:17
and i'm here for it i will say the one that i love the most out of the whiskey row series was the
9:23
Old Forrester 1924. To me that one was a different mash bill and it just had a whole overall different
9:28
flavor profile that I really really fell in love with but after spending some time with it and going
9:33
back to the 1910 I saw a lot of similarities that I appreciated from the 1924 in the 1910 so I think
9:39
in terms of standard releases the 1910 is still the way to go for me but I will definitely be
9:43
seeking out a bottle of this extra extra old 1910. Now it's going to retail for $64.99 and 93 proof
9:51
It's going to be sold in limited quantities at the distillery and select Kentucky retailers
9:55
But it's also available for customers in DC, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Dakota
10:00
At shop.oldforester.com So unfortunately it's not one that I can go out and grab today
10:05
But I hope one day to get a taste of it Because like I said, someone that loves a big, bold, rich, oaky flavor
10:12
This sounds right up my alley And you know, anything with extra oak and extra maturation I'm going to be here for
10:17
So let me know if you guys get a chance to try it and let me know how it compares to 1910. I'd love to do a side-by-side but if you're able to do so
10:24
let me know how you think. Do you think it's worth the extra price or the limited release or are you
10:28
happy just sticking with the original 1910? Would love to know your answer. Now here's an interesting
10:33
one. I came across a fun article from shortlist.com talking about how corn or more specifically
10:40
heirloom corn is making a comeback in the world of whiskey and this kind of resonates with my home
10:46
state of South Carolina and the city that I fell in love with and went to college in Charleston High Wire Distilling has been doing a red corn whiskey for years I mean they did it back when I lived there So we talking almost a decade This heirloom corn is called James Island
11:02
Red. So the bourbon they release is called Jimmy Red. It's 100% corn bourbon made from that corn
11:09
And I think things like that are what make these distilleries stand out, even amongst a sea of
11:14
craft distilleries, bringing back something that has tradition and has relevancy to the region
11:19
where it's, you know, made as a way to introduce people, one, to the culture and the history of the
11:24
region and two, to the unique flavors of, you know, the area. I mean, I love Charleston culture
11:29
I love Charleston cuisine. So when I saw that they were making a whiskey out of a red corn that was
11:34
grown just there on James Island, to me, I had to buy a bottle. Actually, I still have a bottle that
11:39
I haven't opened of a single barrel I bought from them. So maybe one day I'll open that. I don't
11:43
know why I've been holding on to it. I think it just looks really cool. And it's just kind of a nice conversation piece. I'll find a day to open it sometime soon. It's not like something super
11:49
special, but I just think it's kind of cool that to have that in my collection. And there's a quote
11:54
from Scott Blackwell, who's the one that runs that distillery, and he says he thinks that there's a
11:58
potential for corn and bourbon to be explored in ways akin to the appreciation of flavor notes in
12:03
wine or chocolate, products that as consumers we have so much more knowledge about, and especially
12:08
since corn is the primary ingredient for the drink. But High Wire Distilling, of course, isn't the only
12:12
one using heirloom and heritage corn in their whiskey. Jep the Creed, who's been making Bloody
12:17
butcher whiskey for a long time as well as Bruce's Blue Corn but now they're experimenting with a new
12:23
variety or new to the world of whiskey variety called Hickey King Corn so I love to I would love
12:30
to sit down and try a flight of all these different whiskeys made the exact same way age the same
12:34
amount of time and see how much that corn can influence the flavor because we know grains
12:39
matter I mean we look at a lot of distilleries that source you know local grains and there's a
12:43
huge variation in flavor between like a rye whiskey source from New York or a rye whiskey
12:48
source from Canada. I mean, there's there's such a flavor variation in that alone that I think it's
12:53
so fun to see. Let's get more nitpicky. Let's not just say corn. Tell me about the corn. Where is it
12:57
from? You know, is it have a historical significance to where it's being grown and, you know, play a
13:02
part into the whiskey culture of Oklahoma or wherever you're making it? I love seeing new
13:08
things like this. It's not like changing the world of whiskey. We're not like adding weird things
13:12
into whiskey to make it taste different. We're just experimenting with different, you know, strains of the grains that go in it. And I'm all here for that. Let me know what's the craziest
13:21
whiskey ingredient you've heard of being added to a whiskey. I know there's some distilleries
13:25
that do some things with some rice. There's some distilleries that do, oh gosh, lots of
13:29
interesting things. But let me know what's the craziest grain you've seen put in a whiskey that
13:34
can still legally be called whiskey. I'd love to know. Leave a comment on my discord channel
13:39
which by the way if you're not yet on you can join at bourbonbites.com completely free but if you're
13:44
a member of our bike club which is our membership program you get access to some exclusive rooms
13:48
like our vip lounge our gaming sessions our monthly movie nights our tasting parties for
13:53
certain tiers and higher it's just a great community of whiskey loving friends it's a
13:57
relatively small community so don't feel like you're going to go in and get overwhelmed by you
14:01
know thousands of people there's probably a good active 10 to 15 on the regular and then of course
14:06
There's plenty more that come in and out. But yeah, relatively small group. Would love to have
14:10
you a part of it. We're always looking for new members and come drink with us. It's a lot of fun
14:15
So bourbonbites.com is where you can join the discord as well as join the Bite Club, which is
14:19
like I said, the membership program. So but wherever you choose to support me, just make
14:23
sure you're following me on your favorite social media platform at Bourbon Bites and your favorite
14:27
podcast app, which you're hopefully listening to this on now. Now, one quick last piece of news
14:32
just because I want to highlight an achievement from one of my favorite distilleries. Heaven Hill
14:36
was actually named the distillery of the year at the 2025 New Orleans Spirits competition. This is
14:41
out every year and they have a slew of winnings this year of best category. So I'll just run through
14:47
them real quick. They got best bottle and bond bourbon with heaven hill bottle and bond, best
14:51
non-aged shaded bourbon with Evan Williams 1783. Great bottle for the prize by the way. That's been
14:55
kind of like a sleeper I think in their lineup. Best bourbon five to ten years old was actually
15:00
the heaven hill grain to glass. We did bourbon. I haven't had a chance to try that but I've heard
15:04
good things about that series. Speaking of corn, best corn whiskey, Mellow Corn. Of course, it's
15:09
more of a staple in the world of corn whiskey, not heirloom or anything crazy like we just talked
15:13
about. But yeah, best corn whiskey. Maybe one of those other brands will bring in some competition
15:18
in future years. I'd love to see, you know, as much as I love Mellow Corn, I'd love to see
15:22
something beat it out a bit. Sorry. Love you, Bernie lovers. Love you, Heaven Hill. But yeah
15:27
we definitely need some more corn whiskey. I'm here for it. They also won for best finished
15:31
bourbon with Elijah Craig toasted barrel and surprisingly best Añejo tequila with tequila
15:36
Ocho Añejo and I've heard good things about that as well. So congratulations to the folks over at
15:41
Heaven Hill Brands. You guys continue to knock it out of the park. There's a reason you're my favorite
15:45
distillery but you know I love a little competition here and there so let's see let's see who brings
15:49
it in the 2026 New Orleans Spirits Competition. All right well that does it for the hottest news
15:54
of the week that I was able to find at least. If I find anything else I'll post it on the discord server. But I think it's time for our bite-sized review. Now, like I said, this one is a very
16:12
very relevant one for me living in Southern California. This is a collaboration between
16:16
Maker Mark and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation It a limited edition bourbon commemorating the team 2024 World Series victory Now I did not attend that game I not the biggest you know sports person if you
16:29
wouldn't have guessed that already by now. But I do know that that was probably one of the most
16:33
watched things that anyone I know has ever seen. I mean, I remember when the win happened, I was
16:38
sitting, I think I was sitting on my apartment balcony, just kind of like hanging out. And I just
16:42
heard like screams from all over, cheers. Like I kind of was scared at first. I'm like, oh my god
16:47
what is happening why is screams coming at me from every direction everywhere and then of course
16:51
fireworks and it was just it was a crazy moment but like not knowing what it was freaked me that
16:55
freak out but um once I realized what it was which was very very quick um I uh I was very excited for
17:02
my city so yeah this release officially uh came out um this summer I saw it hit the stores and
17:08
like I said I ignored it because I was like oh it's just a blue wax makers I've seen that before
17:12
but no no this one actually it's one it's a unique product which we'll talk about but two
17:17
the proceeds from it are supporting wildfire relief efforts across los angeles if you remember
17:23
of course earlier this year we had some devastating wildfires across the malibu area
17:27
altadena but more about this bottle retail on it is only $74.99 and i say only because
17:32
i feel like something like this is a high collectible item and i'm surprised that it
17:36
was still available when i grabbed it this past weekend and what's really cool about this one like
17:40
I said it's called Maker's Mark Champion Selection, hand selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers 2024
17:45
World Champions. It has a dark blue wax which makes it very very unique. It definitely stands
17:51
out on the shelf. Now underneath the wax is still the standard red cork. Yeah this one comes in at
17:57
112.1 proof or 56.05. It is Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey barrel finished with 10 oak staves
18:05
So you guessed it it's basically the Maker's private selection process but hand selected by
18:10
the Dodgers. And the oak bill for this, if you're curious about what staves they used, they used
18:14
three of the Baked American Pure No. 2, five of the Seared French Cuvée, one of the Maker's Mark 46
18:21
and one of the Toasted French Spice. So that was the custom oak staves used for this release
18:27
Now it's a little confusing because it does say that the first barrel of this was approximately
18:31
275 bottles and has been donated to the LA Dodgers Foundation for charitable auctions and events
18:36
and those proceeds will go to wildfire relief and recovery efforts so I can't tell if they're
18:42
saying there was only 275 bottles of this I mean there's a chance I mean they went really fast
18:46
that just seems relatively uh relatively low for um the amount of Dodgers fan you would think they
18:52
would have done like at least a few different picks but um I don't have any clarifying information
18:55
on that if someone happens to know if there's more maybe I just got one of the very limited bottles but if it is I'm still happy that I'm opening it and sharing with you guys instead of
19:04
putting it in the closet and forgetting about it and becoming a millionaire in several years
19:08
We'll not think about that. We're going to enjoy it while we can. So let's go ahead and get that
19:12
bottle opened. Nice. Appropriate cork pop for a baseball bourbon. Let's give it a nose
19:21
Okay. You know, not what I expected from a typical maker's mark. I've been enjoying the 2025
19:26
Keepers release, and this one definitely goes a different direction than that one. I reviewed that
19:30
previously, by the way, check out that replay. But the nose of this, it's sweet. It's definitely
19:34
in the milk chocolate category. Maybe a little bit of peanut brittle there as well. You know
19:38
it's almost making me think of a baseball, baseball stadium. I'm reading the description
19:44
here and they do say caramel coated popcorn and spiced peanuts. So it almost seemed like that was
19:48
intentional. They were going for a real full Dodgers experience. Now, I'm just hoping this
19:53
doesn't taste like a Dodger dog, but nose, it's great. It's sweet. It's deserty. It's yeah
19:58
it definitely doesn't scream maker's market doesn't scream weeded bourbon let's go and give
20:03
it a taste cheers and go dodgers oh yeah you know what maybe i've convinced myself now because
20:09
the first thing i thought of on the palette was cracker jacks i mean i've never had cracker jacks
20:13
at a baseball game but i figure that's what one does in 1950s americana um but yeah it is like
20:19
caramel popcorn that was their note that they gave on their press release but absolutely that's
20:24
so like dominant of a note on the palate wow i mean it's got a nice spice to it too it's not all
20:30
caramel there's a nice um bit of a baking spice on the back end of that so it's not one note at
20:35
all it's really complex that second sip to me was spicier still sweet but a lot more of the oak and
20:41
the spices came out on second sip it's a buttery finish so it's not the longest but it's definitely
20:46
a medium finish but it's sweet it's like buttery and it brings it right back to that caramel corn
20:51
note that we got at the top of it. Wow, what a good Makers Mart selection. Well done, Los Angeles
20:57
Dodgers. Who knew you had it in you? The Dodgers totally hit it out of the park with this one
21:02
Sorry, couldn't resist. All right, well, that does it for this week's episode. Thank you all
21:06
all so much for listening. Make sure to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast
21:10
platform. I promise I will try to read them out on an upcoming podcast. Always great to see you
21:15
guys leaving feedback on the podcast and the YouTube channel, of course. Speaking of YouTube
21:18
I go live every Thursday night, 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern. Come say hello
21:23
Say you're from the podcast. I would love to meet some of you that I don't interact with more regularly
21:27
But until next time, this has been the Bourbon Bites podcast, a whiskey podcast with a, I guess, baseball twist this week
21:33
I don't know. Cheers. And I will talk to you guys next episode
#Food & Drink
#food