Weller Bourbon has been a lot of things to a lot of people, but from what I can tell mostly the common cause of Tater Syndrome for the past number of years. If you’ve never heard of this condition, and you’re worried about whether you may be afflicted with this disease, Bourboneur does offer a free online Tater Syndrome Diagnostic Test. Beyond launching a thousand taters, the brand has been a mainstay of the bourbon secondary market and factors into the Bourboneur Bourbon Secondary Market Index (BSMI). The BSMI is updated weekly and comprises around 30 various bottles representing some of the most traded bourbons on the secondary market showcasing trends in bourbon pricing, which last year fell a bit over eleven percent as a whole. With a significant volume of bottles trading hands every day, Weller is a heavyweight in terms of the premium it commands and the popularity it receives. In today’s post we’ll dive into some of the specifics around the various Weller brands unpacking the market dynamics, hype, and value proposition that come with each.
Weller Bourbon is a line of wheated bourbons that are produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery. The brand is of course named after William Larue Weller who was a bourbon pioneer who is accredited with the first use (commercial use that is at least) of wheat instead of rye in bourbon production. The wheat yields a softer and sweeter flavor profile which many find to be very approachable. The Weller lineup includes a number of expressions such as Weller Special Reserve, Weller Antique 107, Weller Full Proof, Weller 12 Year, Weller C.Y.P.B., Weller Single Barrel and of course William Larue Weller. For the purposes of today’s post, we’ll be focusing on the “rainbow Wellers” which excludes William Larue Weller bourbon which is a part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
Weller (as well as a whole basket of Buffalo Trace products) has been interesting to watch this past year in terms of their price performance on the bourbon secondary market. As mentioned, most of the Weller products have a base amount of hype-related pricing built in. They are always in demand, and don’t last long on the shelf – outside of Weller Special Reserve if you’re in Texas which gets the lion's share of that bourbons allocation and is a shelf sitter most everywhere you go there. That said, most of the rest of the line don’t find their way to the shelf, and if they do, are like rain in the desert – disappearing upon contact. Below we discuss the trend we’ve seen for each bottle, with some in-depth reviews at the end.
Weller Special Reserve given the abundance and accessibility in select states doesn’t find itself as a high-flier on the bourbon secondary market and as such tends to stay in a tight range around $45-$50 according to the Bourbon Blue Book® and in review of pricing data from the past year.
Similar to Weller Special Reserve, this bottling is about as steady as they come regarding price performance. As we look at the average pricing over the past year there isn’t a more stable bottle than this holding fairly constant trading hands in the $105-$110 range according to the Bourbon Blue Book®.
Falling 23.84% from the start of 2024, Weller 12 has been on a nosedive on the secondary market. There’s no shortage of demand for the bottle, but the cost of ownership has waned and according to the Bourbon Blue Book® you can now pick up a Weller 12 off the secondary for an average of $146.
Similar to Weller 12, Weller Full Proof has been winding its way down on the pricing front with price erosion during the past year to the tune of nearly 25 percent. The steepest of all the Weller lineup. Personally, I enjoy this pour quite a bit so I can’t exactly explain it, but it has certainly been a bruiser more than doubling (and then some) the decline seen in the overall market. You can pick up a bottle of Weller Full Proof on the secondary for $167 as of writing according to the Bourbon Blue Book®.
What was interesting to watch this past year was how Weller 12 performed compared to Weller Full Proof. Interestingly, there was one time, in August, in which you could buy Weller Full Proof for LESS than Weller 12. Wild stuff.
I only saw this bugger one time out in the wild this year, as a store owner of a small joint I’d stopped into pulled it from a box noting “I’ve never seen a white label Weller come through my store.” It wasn’t for sale yet – at least not for me – but I did empty one recently with some friends and would like to replace it. CYPB is down about seventeen percent on the year and according to the Bourbon Blue Book® you can take one home for the going rate of about $355 at the moment.
One of the newest additions to the Weller Lineup, Weller Single Barrel is always in demand – perhaps some of the hype hasn’t worn off or it’s just harder to come by and folks are looking to complete their own rainbow of bottles. None the less, it’s dropped some twenty or so percent since the start of the year. On the Bourbon Blue Book® it’s averaging $415, but that number continues to drop, and I saw the last couple go for $400 even. Expect some movement south there.
If you’re into wheated bourbons, Weller is a stellar line and Buffalo Trace certainly has honed its capabilities in producing great bourbon. From a dollar and cents perspective, and plain accessibility perspective, Weller Special Reserve is a relatively cheap entry to the lineup and is something you can likely get hands on without much effort. If you were looking to reach a little higher up into the tree, I’d 100 percent pick up a Weller Full Proof – and I’d pay the extra 20 or so bucks bottles are going for to get a store pick. It’s essentially a better Weller Single Barrel but with a price tag that’s $220 less. You’ll get a bottle that’s higher proof, and a barrel that someone picked out given it had some standout quality (to them).
Beyond just being a tater syndrome inducing bourbon, Weller's presence in the secondary market has solidified its reputation as a heavyweight, consistently featured in the Bourboneur Bourbon Secondary Market Index (BSMI). Weller's consistent demand, coupled with the market dynamics and hype surrounding it, makes it a fascinating brand for bourbon enthusiasts and collectors alike to keep an eye on.
Data matters and having up-to-date and reliable information to make informed decisions about buying, selling or trading coveted bottles of brownwater is critical. The secondary market doesn’t stand still and neither do we in cataloguing and providing the web’s most accurate, reliable and up-to-date pricing around. As new bottles hit the market, their pricing changes daily…finding a ceiling, and eventually a floor. The market shifts up and down, commensurate with the economy – with the bourbon secondary market down some eleven percent last year alone. If you’re looking for a resource that’s based on real data grounded in actual sales on the secondary market, is updated regularly, and has values for over 5,500 bottles and growing at your fingertips, you need to look no further than the Bourboneur App for iOS and Android. Better still you can add your collection to the “My Bottles” section and keep tabs on your collections value daily with an updated graph showing how your bottles fare compared to the market overall. The app does require a paid subscription, only $3 per month or $25 a year, which easily pays for itself!
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