Description

18 years. The oldest age-statement W.L. Weller expression — and a significant departure from the standard Weller lineup: designated as Straight Wheat Whiskey rather than bourbon, showcasing what Buffalo Trace’s wheated mashbill can achieve when wheat’s role is elevated to the primary grain rather than secondary.

The standard W.L. Weller lineup (Special Reserve, Antique 107, 12 Year, Full Proof, CYPB) and William Larue Weller BTAC are all wheated bourbons — corn-primary mashbills where wheat replaces rye as the secondary grain. The Weller 18 Year Straight Wheat Whiskey takes a different approach: a mash bill where wheat plays a more primary role, producing a designation of “straight wheat whiskey” rather than bourbon. This makes it categorically distinct from every other Weller expression — not a wheated bourbon but a wheat whiskey, the grain that defines the Weller family’s heritage now at the center of the composition rather than as a supporting player.

At 18 years, this is the most age-forward W.L. Weller expression in the Buffalo Trace portfolio. The wheat-primary character at 18 years produces a profile that no bourbon expression in the Weller lineup can replicate — the wheat’s natural sweetness and soft grain character deepened by nearly two decades of Kentucky barrel cycling into something simultaneously familiar and completely distinctive.

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Deep amber from 18 years of barrel maturation.
• Nose: Caramel, vanilla, and the wheat grain’s characteristic soft sweetness deepened by 18-year maturation — more grain-forward and soft than a standard wheated bourbon.
• Palate: Smooth and concentrated — the wheat-primary character producing extraordinary softness alongside the deep oak of 18-year Kentucky aging.
• Finish: Long and warm — the wheat character through an extended, satisfying close.

Specs

• Distillery: Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky
• Style: Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey
• Age: 18 years
• Size: 750ml