For a brief period in the late 90s and early 00s Weller was bottled with distillate from United Distillers when they were operating the Bernheim distillery. I was lucky enough to get a sample of a 2002 bottling of Old Weller Antique from that window. I’m not expert in whiskey or whiskey history from before I was of drinking age(or close to it) but I was excited to try this none the less. Apparently there is some debate as to whether or not this qualifies as a dusty but who care? Let’s see how it tastes
Review #227 2002 Old Weller Antique
Age: 7 years
Abv: 107 proof
Price: $??
Neat
Nose: Sweet and potent with rich butterscotch and vanilla notes and subtler oak and wheat bread.
Taste: A rush of sweet cherry and butterscotch with rich oak and tobacco notes. The mouthfeel is very thick and syrupy.
Finish: Medium to long finish with fading sweetness and slightly dry lingering oak.
Conclusion
Well that was tasty. Definitely a different profile than the modern Buffalo Trace stuff but not as far off as I might have thought. Overall a great dram and be happy to drink it but this is another old bottle that has failed to convince me that the old stuff was really that much better. I’ve had modern OWA picks I prefer to this though I do think this is better than regular OWA today.
TL;DR: Great whiskey, not worth hunting down compared to modern Weller picks imo
8 - an excellent bottle I’d like to have at home
Scale
You can also read this and my other reviews at atxbourbon.com or follow me on Instagram(@atxbourbon) to keep up with these reviews and my other whiskey-centric adventures.