Wheater Wednesday, Van Winkle "Lot B"

Note: Wheater Wednesday is a result of a massive blind wheated bourbon tasting that recently concluded.  All bourbons here are publicly available.

Van Winkle is quickly becoming the most famous name in bourbon--or at least the most sought after.  (As any whiskey blogger can tell you, writing about Pappy Van Winkle is a quick way to boost your traffic stats.)  The "Lot B" version is a 12 year old whiskey bottled at 90.4 proof.  Two years ago I received a bottle as a gift, but since then (and that bottle is LONG gone) I've not been able to find any at a reasonable price.

Remember that the big wheater tasting was blind, so I did not know what I was tasting.  Here are the details:

Nose: Caramel, some vanilla and barrel char.  Some richness here.

Taste: Disappointingly thin and watery.  Doesn't live up to the nose. Musty, not a whole lot stood out here for me. Some nice sweetness but it is in the background.  Okay, but unremarkable.

Finish: Mild spice, but rather short.

Overall: I scored this an 80.  I think this is perfect example of something being overrated because if its name. It's not bad, but there's better wheaters out there and they're almost all easier to find.