Van Winkle 12-Year Lot “B” Bourbon
As much as I enjoy rye whiskey, when it comes to bourbon my allegiances lie squarely with the “wheated” camp.
“Wheated” you say? Remember that bourbon is defined as having at least 51% corn in its mash bill. Most distilleries end up using 70-75% corn, filling in the rest with 11-13% rye and 10-12% malted barley. But there are a few whiskies that use wheat instead of rye to fill out that 11-13%. The result is a much different whiskey.
Rye lends a spicy, minty, resinous quality to bourbon that gives the whiskey a vibrancy in the glass that can be really alluring, and also enables bourbon (and rye whiskey as well) to go great in cocktails. Wheat on the other hand lends a softer, gentler, and more rounded quality to bourbon, bringing out the sweetness and giving it body and depth. Picture making caramel sauce and at the last moment having to choose between adding salt to make a salted caramel sauce, or adding another couple tablespoons of butter to add more richness. This is similar to choosing between a rye bourbon or a wheated bourbon.
And when I say that there are just a few wheated bourbons out there, I mean it. The readily available ones are Van Winkle bourbons, W.L. Weller bourbons, Maker’s Mark, and Old Fitzgerald. Maker’s Mark is certainly the most ubiquitous of these, and is a decent whiskey, just a bit young (~6 years typically). But it’s the Van Winkle and Weller bourbons that are the real showcases for wheated bourbons.
First, a little bit of history about the two labels. For several decades, both were made at the fabled Stitzel-Weller distillery, run by Pappy Van Winkle himself. The distillery closed in 1992, after which Buffalo Trace purchased the W.L. Weller label and began producing it at their Frankfort distillery. At the same time, production of Van Winkle bourbons moved to the Bernheim distillery, before Julian Van Winkle reached an agreement with Buffalo Trace to also produce the Van Winkle bourbons at their facility. So now both are produced at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, KY.
Whiskies from the Stitzel-Weller distillery are an increasingly rare and sought after species. Just look at the prices for a bottle of Van Winkle 20 or 23 year-old! But while some folks may argue that the whiskey distilled under these names at later distilleries isn’t quite as good as the Stitzel-Weller distilled whiskey, the fact is that these are two excellent bourbons, no matter their age or where they were distilled.
As for which is a “better” bourbon, this entirely comes down to personal taste. I love wheated bourbons for how voluptuous and full-bodied they are, and how much depth of flavor they have. There are some great rye bourbons out there, but in my book wheated bourbons really take the cake. We even keep a bottle of Maker’s Mark around since it’s such a good, accessible wheater.
The Van Winkle bourbons in particular have a deservedly legendary reputation, and I’ve written about this here before. Suffice to say that the more you learn about Pappy Van Winkle and the history of this distillery, the more you appreciate the whiskies themselves!
This is the Van Winkle 12-year Lot “B”. Despite the name, there never was a Lot “A”, and there’s much open debate about what the Lot “B” means. This batch of the Lot “B” was distilled at the Bernheim distillery, sometime after 1993 and before distilling at Buffalo Trace began.
Tasting Notes
The color of this bourbon is coppery gold with nice, thick legs running down the sides. The nose has mellow notes of dark honey, marzipan, caramel, and caramelized onions. The palate is smooth and soft while still being light and lively. The alcohol is a bit hot and sharp, lending a vibrant, striking tone to the flavors that encompass classic wheated bourbon tones of vanilla, caramel, honey, and toasted almonds. On the finish, a note of citrus winds its way into the mix, alongside similar flavors as the palate, with honey and almonds being the most prominent.
A classic wheated bourbon. Surprisingly it feels a bit young on the palate, largely on account of the heat of the alcohol (despite it’s being just 45.2%). But the spectrum of wheated bourbon flavors are all there, and the result is a great sipping whiskey that won’t break the bank.
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