Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 96 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 62.9% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $149.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2024-11-06 |
William Larue Weller Bourbon 2024 Review
William Larue Weller is a whiskey that needs little introduction, but we’ll do our best. Named for the man often called the “father” of wheated bourbon, it’s often seen as the crown jewel in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection lineup. A lot of that reputation comes from truly stupendous releases in the 2010s, some of which rank among my favorite Kentucky bourbons of the 21st century. Last year’s William Larue, while quite tasty, fell a little short of some of the expression’s highest highs. Can 2024 get things back on track?
Buffalo Trace is somewhat light on details for this year’s Antique Collection. Unlike some previous years — including 2023 — the distillery isn’t divulging more specific info on which warehouses the barrels aged in. We do know it was aged over 12 years “on the lower floor of a rickhouse.” It’s an uncut, unfiltered Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskey, made from a wheated mashbill and with a barrel entry proof of 114.
Here’s one more tidbit, though it’s more opinion than fact. In an Antique Collection press release for 2024, Buffalo Trace claimed “William Larue Weller is the clear standout of this year’s exceptional lineup.”
Let’s find out if Buffalo Trace is right!
William Larue Weller Bourbon 2024: Stats and Availability
Like all expressions in this year’s Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, William Larue Weller comes with an MSRP of around $150, up $25 from last year. If you’re able to find this within spitting distance of MSRP, consider yourself lucky. Retail markups are often 10-times (or more) what the manufacturer suggests with this highly allocated, highly sought-after whiskey. Happy hunting!
William Larue Weller Bourbon 2024 Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
My first sniff is filled with tanned leather, book bindings, sawdust, and brown butter, a series of semi-sweet and heavily tannic notes befitting a bourbon clocking in at well over a decade old. Graham crackers and toasted bread are next, followed by overripe fruit in the form of bananas and peaches. There’s a sticky-sweet aroma hiding (and perhaps boosting) those ripe fruits. Looking back, the brand notes suggest marshmallow, but to my nose it’s closer to melted butterscotch, the kind used for dipping ice cream cones at Dairy Queen.
At first, I missed a familiar (and personal favorite) pair of William Laure Weller notes, namely medicinal cherry and cherry cough drop. But sure enough, it makes an appearance after a few more minutes in the glass, a fruity/peppermint oil combo that I rarely sense apart from the very top tier of wheated bourbons.
The end of each deep inhale is punctuated by boisterous spice, specifically cinnamon chewing gum and clove oil. At the extreme edges of perception lies some mint — spearmint and wintergreen — though things never quite teeter over into menthol territory.
It’s a complex, inviting nose. Now for the real test.
Taste
Yep, that’s good. (Sorry to spoil the surprise.) Cherry candy, strawberry shortcake, melted vanilla ice cream, and almond cookies lead a sweet, dessert-forward first sip. Those are accented by juicy plums, the fresh fruit cutting through flavors that on their own could be cloying.
And that’s just the first taste. Dark wood builds slowly but unmistakably with each subsequent sip. Fruit sweetness melts into barrel-aged maple syrup as everything gets enveloped by the slightly drying, lightly bitter, and flavor-enhancing impact of charred wood. By the fourth taste, we’re in esteemed company, the bourbon existing at that rare intersection of bold fruit and pronounced tannins. It’s as if the barrels were dumped and batched at almost precisely the right moment, capturing a best-of-both-worlds harmony between the distillate and wood influences.
The back palate returns to cherry cough drop, with a pop of chocolate orange that lingers at the sides of the mouth thanks to a remarkably thick mouthfeel. Lucky drinkers can sip this bourbon slowly, confident in the fact that each note will reveal itself in good time.
Finish
The finish is the spiciest, most cinnamon-forward act. Brandy-soaked fruit cake, cinnamon sticks, and various permutations of holiday spice tie everything up in a bright cherry bow. Sipped neat or with various amounts of water, the results are similar however I slice them: nearing extraordinary.
William Larue Weller Bourbon 2024 Rating
96/100
Recap
After a 2023 release that was “just” really good, this year’s William Larue Weller is a return to form and among the best from the expression in recent years. The hallmark cherry flavors return but leave plenty of room for others to come out and play, resulting in rich, complex bourbon that sits pleasantly on the taste buds for long minutes. I’m happy to give this one a 96/100 — and truth be told, if we gave half points at VinePair, I would be tempted to go even higher.
*Image retrieved from Buffalo Trace Distillery
As of 2024, VinePair no longer participates in any affiliate programs. All links included in our content are as a convenience to our readers, not for earning commission — we receive no monetary value from them. Learn more about our tastings & review department here!
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