Buffalo Trace's wheated recipe puts North Dakota wheat in the small-grain position normally held by rye, beside Kentucky corn and North Dakota malted barley. The 2023 release was distilled in the spring of 2011, 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 in Lebanon, Kentucky, at a barrel entry proof of 114. Those barrels sat on floors 2 and 3 of Warehouses C, L, M and N for 12 years and 6 months, over which 66% of the original whiskey evaporated. Nothing was filtered and nothing was added back before bottling, so the 133.6 proof on the label is the strength the barrels arrived at.

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 2023 William Larue Weller?

The 2023 William Larue Weller is bottled at 133.6 proof, or 66.8% ABV. Buffalo Trace bottles this Antique Collection release uncut and unfiltered, so that figure is the strength the barrels reached rather than a target the distillery proofed down to. The whiskey went into the barrel at 114 proof and gained strength over 12 years and 6 months of maturation.

Is the 2023 William Larue Weller the highest-proof William Larue Weller ever released?

No. Six releases of this label have been bottled stronger: 140.2 proof in 2014, 136.2 in 2013, 135.4 in 2016, 134.8 in 2009, 134.6 in 2015 and 134.5 in 2020. That places the 2023 William Larue Weller seventh in strength across the barrel-proof run, and well clear of the previous year's bottling at 124.7 proof.

How old is the 2023 William Larue Weller?

The 2023 William Larue Weller was 12 years and 6 months old at bottling. Buffalo Trace distilled it in the spring of 2011 and matured it on floors 2 and 3 of Warehouses C, L, M and N until the fall 2023 Antique Collection release.

What grains are in the 2023 William Larue Weller?

Buffalo Trace lists the 2023 William Larue Weller as Kentucky corn in distillers grade 1 and 2, North Dakota wheat, and North Dakota malted barley. Wheat sits in the small-grain position that rye holds in the distillery's other Antique Collection bourbons, which is what gives the label its softer, rounder frame.