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Next Auction starts Friday 29 March. Bottle Deadline: 18 March.

W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

Lot: 6140049

W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

Winning Bid: £200

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
Buffalo Trace
Age: 
12 Year Old
Vintage: 
N/A
Region: 
Kentucky, USA
Bottler: 
Official
Cask Type: 
N/A
Bottled Strength: 
90 US Proof / 45%
Bottle Size: 
75cl
Distillery Status: 
Operational
product Details

W.L. Weller 12 Year Old

William Larue Weller was born into a distilling family in Kentucky in 1825, and launched his W.L. Weller brand in 1849. Originally a rectification business (creating 'whiskey' using neutral spirit, colouring and flavourings), this all changed with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 and the death of Weller two years later. The company was left in the hands of the fiercely passionate Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I who, having steered it safely through the wreckage of National Prohibition, established Old Weller alongside the newly acquired Old Fitzgerald labels and the flagship brands for the new Stitzel-Weller distillery in 1933. It was produced there for over 60 years, eventually being sold to the Sazerac Company in 1999, who distil it at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's recipe to this day.

This Buffalo Trace release is from prior to the 2016 rebrand of the range, which saw the "W.L." prefix dropped from the packaging. In her book But Always Fine Bourbon, Sally Van Winkle Campbell claims that Sazerac did not have the exact Weller recipe until their partnership with her brother, Julian Van Winkle III was agreed in 2002. Undoubtedly a nod of approval from the family for the modern day product.

A historic distillery, Buffalo Trace was built in 1812 Harrison Blanton. It was then purchased by the legendary Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr in 1870, who named it OFC (Old Fashioned Copper) and invested heavily in its modernisation. So much so in fact that he declared himself bankrupt after just seven years, and George T. Stagg stepped in to rescue it, becoming its owner in 1878. He ran the distillery until his retirement in the 1890s, and it was renamed in his honour in 1904. Having survived Prohibition, it was bought up by the Schenley company in 1933, who ran it as part of their extensive portfolio for the next fifty years, eventually selling it to Age International. The latter's new Japanese ownership in 1992 had no interest in it (only in its brands), and immediately sold it to the Sazerac company, who renamed it Buffalo Trace in 1999.

 

Important Notice

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.