quote:
I'm having a really hard time finding Weller 12. Has anyone tried making the Poor Mans Pappy with Weller and OWA? Is there much difference?
Huge Difference. Every barrel that goes into Weller 12 is at least 12 years old, while Old Weller Antique and Weller Special Reserve use barrels that are likely less than 7 years old. WSR is essentially OWA that is cut down to 90 proof, so you are not going to get anything extra by blending those two.
OWA by itself would be solid candidate for mini barrel aging. You could go high rye with something like Old Grand Dad BIB, which I always liked, but felt was a tad raw.
Texas has a solid bourbon selection, but falls behind many areas in private barrel selections. We are starting to see a few more pop up every once in a while, but they are mostly at the big chain stores that dont really put much effort into actually selecting the barrel.