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Weller Special Reserve or "Weller Green Label" is the entry point to the often hyped and hunted Weller wheated lineup, produced by Buffalo Trace. It bears the name of William Larue Weller (incidentally the title for the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection edition Weller bottle) who was credited as being the first to produce bourbon with wheat as the secondary grain instead of rye in 1840. The brand was stable for around 80 years before rising to prominence under the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company in 1935, sharing a mash bill with the coveted Pappy Van Winkle line which to this day leads it to be often called "Poor Man's Pappy". Sazerac has owned the brand and produced it at Buffalo Trace since 1999, rebranding it from "Old Weller" to just "Weller" in 2016 with a label refresh. At one point, Weller Green was packaged with metal screw tops but this bottle is one of the recent returns to a traditional stopper.
🛒Sourced: $29.99 at Tower Beer Wine & Spirits, GA - 750ml. Tower is one of the few GA stores to routinely get good allocations due to their scale. As of 2026 you can find limited quantities of Weller, Buffalo Trace, and Eagle Rare on the shelf somewhat reliably, and EHT SmB somewhat less frequently. Note that Special Reserve is around half the price of the other standard Weller offerings.
🧪Proof: 90 proof, 45% ABV
🎨Color: R4 - a light caramel with hints of red, around where most standard offerings end up. Not very leggy.
🥔Mash Bill & Production: Buffalo Trace Wheated Mash Bill (Undisclosed, but speculated at ~70-76% Corn, 16-20% Wheat, and ~4% Malted Barley).
- Age - No Age statement - Historically it was stated at 7-years but during the boom it, like many others, lost the guarantee. It likely contains 5-6 year whiskey in various quantities though BT does take pains to try and keep the profile somewhat consistent.
- Barrel Entry Proof - 114 (see Weller Full Proof)
- Char - #4 Char ("Alligator Char") is the Buffalo Trace standard. Barrel wood is air-dry seasoned for at least six months.
- Batch Size - Hundreds of Barrels, large format
- Chill Filtered - Yes
👃Nose: Pretty light and unobtrusive, salted caramel, mild toffee, and sweet cream.
😜Palate: Light bodied and very easy drinking. There is almost no alcohol astringency and it somehow manages to retain some wheat creaminess in spite of the light body. Flavor is monotone, a satisfying sweetness somewhere between sugar cookie and cream corn.
💦Finish: Very Short, a very small amount of sweet corn and cereal, honey oats.
🏆 Overall: 5.75/10 - Pretty Good - I can't imagine paying secondary prices for this bottle, but I can certainly see why people like it. This is a very crushable pour that is inoffensive and has some of that creamy wheat texture without being overwhelming. As an entry point to the range, Weller Special Reserve does a good job as a workhorse but lacks the complexity of the higher priced offerings in its pedigree.
💵Would buy again? Not unless someone has me looking for it. Think we'll see plenty of these on the shelf before too long. Might as well save a few bucks and get Maker's Mark or look for Maker's 46 around the same price.
⚖️Rating Scale:
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws | Struggle to get through the bottle
4 | Serviceable | Mixing or ice recommended.
5 | Good | Drinkable Neat | An agreeable dram indeed.
6 | Very Good | Any flaws offset by interesting flavors | A cut above.
7 | Great | You find yourself reaching for this one often | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Serve to Impress Guests | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite | You guard this bottle jealously
🙈Blind Tastings:
- 6/10/26 - Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat BiB > Four Roses Small Batch > Weller Special Reserve (this Bottle)