Buffalo Trace's wheated recipe puts North Dakota wheat in the small-grain position that rye holds in the distillery's other Antique Collection bourbons, beside Kentucky corn and North Dakota malted barley. The 2021 release was distilled in the winter of 2009, came off the still at 130 proof, and went into new white oak barrels with a number 4 char burned for 55 seconds, coopered by Independent Stave, at a barrel entry proof of 114 — against 125 for the other three whiskeys in the same year's collection. Those barrels were spread across five warehouses, C, D, K, L and Q, on floors 1, 2 and 3, and 64% of the original whiskey evaporated over 12 years and 6 months. Nothing was filtered and nothing was added back, so 125.3 proof is the strength the wood released.

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

What proof is the 2021 William Larue Weller?

The 2021 William Larue Weller is bottled at 125.3 proof, or 62.65% ABV. It is bottled uncut and unfiltered, so that figure is the strength the barrels reached rather than a number the distillery proofed down to. The whiskey entered the barrel at 114 proof and came out stronger after 12 years and 6 months. Note that the 2008 release carries the same 125.3, so proof alone does not identify the vintage.

How old is the 2021 William Larue Weller?

The 2021 William Larue Weller was 12 years and 6 months old at bottling. Buffalo Trace distilled it in the winter of 2009 and released it in the fall of 2021, which makes it two months younger than the 2022 release that followed it.

Where was the 2021 William Larue Weller aged?

Buffalo Trace drew the 2021 William Larue Weller from five warehouses — C, D, K, L and Q — with the barrels resting on floors 1, 2 and 3. The distillery names those five warehouses and those three floors in its 2021 batch record, and reports that 64% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation over the 12 years and 6 months in barrel.

Is the 2021 William Larue Weller chill filtered?

No. Buffalo Trace records the filtration for the 2021 William Larue Weller as none, as it does for the Thomas H. Handy Sazerac released beside it. The other two whiskeys in that year's four-bottle collection, the Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old and the Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old, are both recorded as chill filtered.