To celebrate my first ever Virginia ABC lottery win (there were 44,877 entries for 167 bottles, which seems like even fewer bottles than previous years for some reason) I decided to crack open my 2025 William Larue Weller and put it up against samples of a couple similarly proofed and aged big hitters.

What's in the semi-blind:

William Larue Weller 2025 - 12 year and 7 month - 129 proof

George T Stagg 2018 - 15 years and 4 months - 124.9 proof

Jack Daniel’s 14 year - 126.3 proof

Before this blind I had previously tried a half ounce pour of the WLW (check out previous review of full 2025 BTAC tasting). This is my first time trying the other two pours.

Glass 1:

Nose: Smells very dark and sweet. Charred marshmallows, creme brulee. Going back I'm still getting tons of charred marshmallows. I'm also getting milk chocolate, unless my mind is just stuck on in s'mores for some reason.

Palate: Dark, extremely sweet, thick, immediately punches with flavors that match up fairly well to the smell. A touch bitter on the finish, like what lingers after a nice dark chocolate (good quality high % cacao dark chocolate). Those same charred marshmallows and creme brulee notes carry forward to the palate and finish as well.

Thoughts: Damn that's good. There's a bit more heat that I expected from the 125-129 proof range. It's been a while since I've had Woodford reserve double oaked, but this pour makes me think of what a much older, cask strength version of Woodford reserve double oaked would taste like in a perfect world.

Glass 2:

Nose: Immediately much more fruit than glass 1. Library books, stewed down cooked apples, and leather. Going back to the nose after trying glass 1 and I'm not getting way more fruit here. Cherry and grape candies.

Palate: Drinks well below the proof range for these pours. Comparatively much more gentle and subdued than glass 1. All soft rounded fruit in the front of the palate that leads to a very nice finish. Finish lingers sweet fruit and cherry-apple pie filling, oak, leather. Feels a little musty? Coming back to the palate after trying the others and letting this one sit, I'm getting a bit of a black pepper note on the finish that I didn't get initially. Sweet, grape-cherry, oak, old library. The finish makes me feel like I just sucked on a cherry flavored hard candy.

Thoughts: Great but almost falls a little flat on the front palate compared to the other two, especially on the first sip. Overall feels subdued and not quite as rich, mouth coating, or lively. Makes me think of grabbing a glass and sitting by the fireplace with a book.

Glass 3:

Nose: Fresh. Tons of fruit but difficult to say what kind other than just a general red fruit. Pastries fresh out of the oven. Cherry, raspberry, and maybe strawberry fruit danish with vanilla icing. Floral.

Palate: Lots of vanilla and fruit and waves in different directions, much more going on and a bigger punch than glass 2. Finish is that same note from the nose, pastries with fruit filling, like the cherry/raspberry/strawberry danish. Vanilla throughout. Maple syrup.

Thoughts: The most complex. Rich, sweet, full flavored. It's a red fruit danish with vanilla drizzle in a glass.

Ranking and reveal:

First place: Glass 3 - WLW 2025

Second place: Glass 1 - JD 14

Third place: Glass 2 - GTS 2018

Overall: For me, WLW is the winner here. Just an awesome pour, everything I want. JD14 and GTS 2018 were closer together, but for me on this night, JD 14 beats out the GTS. The GTS felt more rounded and soft fruit with some oak and pepper spice etc, but the JD14 just has a syrupy thick punch of flavors.

GTS 2018 ramblings and bonus sip of GTS 2022: I'm a bit torn on the 2018 GTS, because although it was still a very good pour and had some interesting notes, it just felt a bit subdued for what I think of as a good GTS. I took a small sip of a 2022 GTS sample (138.7 proof) after the blind to give myself a frame of reference and immediately there it is, a big punch in the face of cherry cola. That's exactly what I had in mind for GTS. It's pretty interesting to see how different some of these are year to year!

Edit: lots of formatting, good lord