Weller Special Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon (Payless Liquors, Indianapolis) Quick Review

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My reviews tend to be long-winded and very in-depth. I know that many readers don’t have the time or patience to read them all. This is why I have decided to create a “Quick Review” format. I’m not going to cover backstories, distilling methods or anything like that if I know I’ve covered it in a previous review of a similar bottle. You’ll find that a lot of these quick reviews will be based on single barrel picks because their backstory is usually the same with the exception of the group that picked them.

Payless Liquors is one of the few remaining Indianapolis liquor store chains that hasn’t been bought up by Big Red Liquors. While I’m not a fan of their prices, they more than make up for it with their annual Father’s Day and Christmas Bottle Lotteries. Lines form starting 24 hours prior the scheduled day with most people showing up between 5am and 7am. The best part about their annual Father’s Day lottery is that it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll walk away with a bottle of Blanton’s.

In 2024, there was another surprise that Payless had for their Father’s Day lottery. They were putting a single barrel pick of Weller Special Reserve in the mix for you to choose from. How often do you see these anymore?

Weller Special Reserve Single Barrel Store Picks

Weller Special Reserve Store Picks have been an option for places to pick for a while now, but most stores elect to pick a single barrel of Weller Antique or Weller Full Proof instead.  The reason is the demand is so high for those from enthusiasts who will pay extra for the higher proof and increased flavor.  That makes it a rare sight to see a shiny gold sticker on the side of a bottle of Special Reserve.

I think one of the main reasons stores decide to go with Special Reserve over Antique 107 or Full Proof is that they yield more bottles. And while the price that they should mark them at is *theoretically* lower, most don’t mark it that low. This gives them more bottles to sell and more profit per bottle. Was this the case with Payless? I’m not sure, but a surprising amount of people elected to get one of these over a bottle of Blanton’s. I witnessed many being traded 1:1 in the parking lot after the event was over.

Weller Special Reserve should realistically be around 5 to 6.5 years old, but due to the laws of being labeled a straight bourbon, this pick could be as young as 4. So how was it? Let’s find out. Thanks to my friend Brad for biting the bullet and buying this over a Blanton’s. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet, light notes like caramel, vanilla and fruit are the first to shine through. The fruit notes center around cherries and just a touch of orange. Surprisingly, I can find a faint note of oak – which is unusual for a bourbon so low in proof and young. The one scent that sticks out to me is this kind of candy maltiness. I don’t know how to describe it except to say that certain Scotches carry this sweet malted quality that resembles something close to candy. In this case, it would be Skittles.

Palate: Fruit notes like cherries and oranges take top billing in the small cast of flavors that dance on your tongue. Both caramel and honey share the stage for sweets while cinnamon and nutmeg add spice. I even find more notes that are similar to the sweetness that I get in malt whiskies. I’m not complaining, though. The one negative I’ll throw out there is that I can detect a bit of youthfulness in this barrel – which is odd coming from a distillery who has worked hard over the years to get rid of anything resembling that note from their products.

Finish: As the finish sets in, I’m reminded that there has been virtually no heat so far in this dram. It’s about as smooth-sippin’ as it comes. Even the two most dominant spices – cinnamon and nutmeg – don’t try to spice things up at the end. Instead, it’s just more fruit with cherries and light citrus notes along with some wood.

Score: 6/10

This was a drama-free bottle to sip on. It exhibited all of the classic Buffalo Trace wheated bourbon traits that you’d expect – fruity, bright and just the right amount of spice. At 90 proof, you can also enjoy a bit more than you’d normally have because it’s not some monster over-proofed bottle. It’s nothing that’s going to blow your mind or make you think it’s something that it’s not, but it’s also a bottle that has a time and place to enjoy – when you want something that’s reliably good and doesn’t require much thought. This is the one you’ll reach for. I wish more of these Special Reserve single barrels were available.