Bourbon Bass Barbells. Friday. Fresh crack. Let’s go.

This is an L25 batch of the Weller Full Proof. If you watched Thursday’s episode you already saw me run this through a blind with the rest of the Weller lineup. But this one deserves its own conversation so here we are.

114 proof. NAS. Buffalo Trace wheated mash bill. The Full Proof name doesn’t mean barrel strength. It means it’s bottled at the same proof the distillate went into the barrel at, which is 114. That’s a distinction worth knowing before you start throwing around the term barrel proof at your local bar.

Nice pop on the open. No smoke on the fresh crack.

Quick note before we get into the glass. If you’ve been following the Colorado Weller situation, the 107 and the 12 Year have been showing up consistently. This one and the CYPB are the holdouts. Still not showing up on shelves the same way the others are. Prices on the Full Proof have been in flux too. Was sitting at $200 around here not long ago. Dropped to $150. Saw it recently at $99.99, which if the stores that historically charge too much are hitting that number, the more reasonable spots will probably follow. MSRP appears to be landing at $64.99 on the most recent drop though we’ll confirm that on the next one.

On to the glass.

The nose is good. That Buffalo Trace grape note is there but the proof dulls it down compared to the 107, which I’ve actually always appreciated about this bottle. Cherry stands out more here and that maraschino cherry note is one of my favorite things in bourbon. Little brown sugar underneath, a touch of caramel. Smells a little young if I’m being honest but it’s a delicious nose regardless.

The palate is exactly what you’d expect if you took the 107 and turned the volume up. Same wheated profile, same cherry and caramel running through it, but the 114 proof adds some muscle behind it. Wildly consistent batch to batch, which for a NAS wheated bourbon at this price point is genuinely impressive. The barrel char and cinnamon show up mid palate and give it a little backbone.

The finish brings some heat. Cinnamon upfront, then it turns sweet on the back end. Brown sugar and caramel close it out. It’s a solid finish that leans into the proof without getting out of control.

Here’s where I land on this one though. The 107 has always been my go-to Weller bottle. Always. The Full Proof is the louder version of that same conversation and sometimes louder isn’t better. The 107 lets the flavor profile breathe in a way that the extra proof on this one occasionally works against. That said you absolutely have to give props to how consistent this thing is release after release. That’s not easy to do.

On price. At $64.99 MSRP this is a fair buy. At $99.99 you’re at the ceiling of what I’d personally spend on it right now given where the Weller market is heading. Nationally these are running $105 to $155 for a standard release and $155 to $180 for a store pick. My top out is $99 for a standard bottle. Store pick I’d need to know what I’m getting before I commit to that $155 to $180 range.

Would I buy it? Yes, at the right price. Is it my first call when I want a Weller? No. The 107 still wins that argument every time.

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