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Old Weller Antique 107 Proof - Buffalo Trace Distillery


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The Weller Antique 107 has started showing up on the shelves a lot more in the Richmond ABC stores, so I'm ready to make it the every day under $25 house drinker that I've been waiting for.  My only real problem, and it's hardly a problem, is that I find it has to be neat for me to enjoy it.  The few times I've put in an ice cube, the flavors and any bourbon intensity seem to disappear.  It doesn't happen instantly, but as soon as any of the ice melts the water washes away everything I like about it.

Does anyone else find this happening with this or other whiskies?  Is this also a sign to steer clear of throwing this into a cocktail for fear of losing the flavor?

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The Weller Antique 107 has started showing up on the shelves a lot more in the Richmond ABC stores, so I'm ready to make it the every day under $25 house drinker that I've been waiting for.  My only real problem, and it's hardly a problem, is that I find it has to be neat for me to enjoy it.  The few times I've put in an ice cube, the flavors and any bourbon intensity seem to disappear.  It doesn't happen instantly, but as soon as any of the ice melts the water washes away everything I like about it.

Does anyone else find this happening with this or other whiskies?  Is this also a sign to steer clear of throwing this into a cocktail for fear of losing the flavor?

Derek Brown himself suggested using this particular bourbon to make bourbon-based cocktails, which I did. My sense of taste isn't refined enough to answer your question, but I certainly enjoy the "Cooper's Brothers" cocktail: 1 oz. Bourbon (Weller Antique 107), 1/2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueuer, 1/2 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueuer, shaken in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, strained into a cocktail glass with a twist of lemon.

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The Weller Antique 107 has started showing up on the shelves a lot more in the Richmond ABC stores

Really? I was just looking on VA ABC's price list the other day for it. A friend of mine was surprised when I said I loved it as a less-expensive bourbon as the only Weller he'd seen in VA was something around $80.

How much is it? Better yet, can you give me the ordering # (so I can send it to him to special order since apparently his store doesn't carry it)?

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The 107 is $23.99, the Special Reserve is $18, Special reserve also comes in 1.75s for $36. At least 5 different stores are carrying the 107 now. I'll take a picture of the shelf tag next time I'm in an ABC (which will be tomorrow, probably).

The $80 is the BTAC William Larue Weller, which is only a special order item from what I can tell.  We had one at our bourbon tasting two times ago, and it's got a lot of heat.

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Really? I was just looking on VA ABC's price list the other day for it. A friend of mine was surprised when I said I loved it as a less-expensive bourbon as the only Weller he'd seen in VA was something around $80.

How much is it? Better yet, can you give me the ordering # (so I can send it to him to special order since apparently his store doesn't carry it)?

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I'll also be mixing up some of Derek's ginger cocktails tonight with this.  Will report back when I sober up.

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I used the occasion of my wife making her mother's pho recipe for the first time to break out this cocktail.  I figured the ginger would go well with the dish, and Derek Brown was right, it's an excellent cocktail.  I made it with both the Old Weller 107 and Weller Special Reserve.  The domaine de canton and St. Germain greatly increase the cost of the cocktail, clocking in around $35 each per bottle, but definitely worth the tariff.

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The Weller Antique 107 has started showing up on the shelves a lot more in the Richmond ABC stores, so I'm ready to make it the every day under $25 house drinker that I've been waiting for.  My only real problem, and it's hardly a problem, is that I find it has to be neat for me to enjoy it.  The few times I've put in an ice cube, the flavors and any bourbon intensity seem to disappear.  It doesn't happen instantly, but as soon as any of the ice melts the water washes away everything I like about it.

Does anyone else find this happening with this or other whiskies?  Is this also a sign to steer clear of throwing this into a cocktail for fear of losing the flavor?

I find this with a lot of Bourbons that aren't cask strength (Bulleit Rye, for example, suffers from the addition of just a single ice cube). People cringe when they think of Bourbons being 137 proof, but those that are, can tolerate some dilution and retain the characteristics of what makes them great; I find that once you get under 100 proof, it's best to put the bottle in the fridge for 15 minutes if you're going to serve it neat.

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 The domaine de canton and St. Germain greatly increase the cost of the cocktail, clocking in around $35 each per bottle, but definitely worth the tariff.

My local liquor store had both of these on sale for under $30 at the time I bought them. I was interested in both after reading an article in the WaPo about the Cooper brothers. Their father, apparently, owned the company that makes Chambord raspberry liqueuer and they went their separate ways to make the two other items. Somebody came up with the Cooper Brothers Cocktail which, BTW includes an ORANGE--not lemon--twist, as I originally posted.

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I find this with a lot of Bourbons that aren't cask strength (Bulleit Rye, for example, suffers from the addition of just a single ice cube). People cringe when they think of Bourbons being 137 proof, but those that are, can tolerate some dilution and retain the characteristics of what makes them great; I find that once you get under 100 proof, it's best to put the bottle in the fridge for 15 minutes if you're going to serve it neat.

Ditto. 100 proof, to me, seems to be the cutoff; underneath that, you definitely don't want to dilute (put it in the fridge, or use "rocks" or the metal balls or whatever that don't melt) if you want it cold.

Then again, I feel like 100+ proof is where you really start getting the interesting flavors. Trying a barrel strength whiskey straight, then slowly adding water to it and tasting it as the flavors change, is eye-opening.

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