Heaven Hill distillery has a rich bourbon history. Currently, they’re the largest family-owned distillery in the United States and the second largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon in the world (I’m still trying to work my way up the list). The distillery was founded in 1935 by the Shapira family with Master Distiller Joseph Beam (yes, his cousin is Jim).
The Buffalo Trace Distillery releases some of the best bourbons and rye whiskies every fall under their Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Currently, the BTAC is made up of 3 bourbons and 2 rye whiskies, George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Eagle Rare 17, Sazerac 18 and Thomas H. Handy. However, this was not always the lineup for the BTAC. Let’s take a look at the origins of the Antique Collection and how it has evolved over the years.
If you’ve ever read the label on any of the Weller bottles you’ll notice they all include the tagline “The Original Wheated Bourbon”. While a different wheated bourbon has claimed most of the lime light recently the Weller brand is truly the original wheated bourbon. You may have also noticed that Weller bourbon line, specifically W.L. Weller 12 year, has become increasingly harder to find recently. This is probably due to a mixture of factors including the popularity of Pappy Van Winkle (a wheated bourbon), popularity of bourbon in general and the fact that it’s excellent bourbon for under $30.
Typically, I write reviews on this site as a way to help readers make better decisions on what to buy. I review a lot of bourbons and whiskies on my MyWhiskey page but only a select few make it to the blog. Because of this I have not reviewed any of the Pappy Van Winkles on the blog. My reasoning, no one is on the fence of whether or not to buy Pappy Van Winkle. People don’t wait in line for hours; drive hundreds of miles and then google “Pappy Van Winkle reviews” to decide whether or not to buy. However, because allocations are so slim stores are moving to lottery systems or only allowing one bottle per customer. Because of this I decided it was time to post my review.