Buffalo Trace Distillery is thrilled to announce Weller Millennium, a first-of-its-kind, ultra-aged whiskey from the Original Wheated Bourbon brand. This category-redefining innovation is comprised of a blend of vintage straight wheated bourbon and wheat whiskeys that were distilled near the turn of the millennium and matured at Buffalo Trace Distillery for various lengths of time.

As the third oldest operating distillery in the world, with roots dating back to 1773, Buffalo Trace Distillery (as it’s known today) has been honing its craft since Kentucky was a wild, untamed frontier and the United States was just an idea. In the centuries that followed, the site changed hands numerous times, but one thing always remained constant: it was a homeplace for the creation of authentic American whiskey.

At the turn of the millennium, the Distillery was amid a period of transformation once again and looked to its forebearers for inspiration. As a trailblazer in the industry, the distillation team chose to pay homage to W.L. Weller by setting aside some of the first whiskeys distilled in the new millennium for the sole purpose of creating this extraordinary innovation.

“At Buffalo Trace Distillery, our motto is ‘Honor Tradition, Embrace Change,’ says Harlen Wheatley, Master Distiller, Buffalo Trace Distillery. “As we are in constant pursuit of making the world’s best whiskey, we often hold back small lots of barrels to continue aging beyond our typical brand standards in hope that this aging experimentation will result in a particularly well-balanced, matured whiskey. In this case, we found the whiskey distilled in 2000 to show incredible balance and asked ourselves how wheat would perform as an ultra-aged spirit. It’s proven to be an impeccable backbone to this expression, allowing us to showcase wheat’s versatility and innovate beyond traditional wheated bourbon.”

A blend of vintage straight bourbon and wheat whiskeys distilled in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006, Weller Millennium highlights the impact wheat has on the whiskey’s flavor: the softness imparted by the wheat creates a smoother, sweeter, more approachable expression. By marrying these exceptional spirits, the whiskeys further integrate and harmonize with each other, creating a cohesive, balanced final product that is greater than the sum of its parts.