I Found the Cheapest Place to Buy Weller Bourbon Online

You’re probably sick of hearing about it by now, but the bourbon boom of the 21st century has fundamentally changed the American whiskey industry. Bourbon production has increased by nearly 500 percent since the turn of the millennium, and much of the growth in the segment is driven by premiumization of the segment — the value growth of bourbon is outpacing even the insane volume growth. Bourbon continues to get more expensive, bottles that used to be cheap and available everywhere are now allocated with marked-up prices. Deals are harder to find than ever, especially when it comes to the most hyped bottles.

Perhaps no single bottle of bourbon better encapsulates the bourbon boom story than Weller 12 Year. Intended as a value offering from the vaunted Buffalo Trace Distillery, this wheated bourbon used to be readily available on liquor store shelves for between $20 and $30. Even today, its SRP is just $45. But insatiable hype for the stuff — driven largely by a desire to obtain a wheated Buffalo Trace alternative to Pappy Van Winkle, which has seen its own prices climb into four-figure territory — has caused Weller’s average market price to steadily climb over the past decade to the point where the average bottle is now over $300. So, in this insane market, where is the cheapest place to buy Weller bourbon?

For the lowest price, shop local

As has long been our advice for those looking for deals on bourbon, your best bet is probably to get to know the proprietor of your local liquor store who receives an allocation of Weller 12. If you are able to get in good with them, then maybe they’ll sell you a bottle at a decent price.

But then again … maybe they won’t. This is all dependent on the seller, the buyer, the area and a number of other factors, and there are of course no guarantees. So if you’re not willing to go through all of this in-person hassle for something that likely may not pay off anyway, then your next step is to shop for Weller 12 online.

If a price seems too good to be true …

When shopping for Weller online, you will likely come across at least one site offering bottles priced far below the competition. This should be a major red flag. Just like with anything else, if a price seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. For a Weller-specific example, let’s look at a site called onestopbourbons.com. The site’s Weller 12 listing popped up on the first page of Google Shopping results for a bottle, and it was priced at just $130 — less than half the average online price. My bullshit meter immediately started blaring, and it didn’t take long to discover that the site was a scam.

If you see a bottle of Weller 12 online for a suspiciously low price, you can assume it’s a scam.Photo by Johnny Brayson

First, I noticed that other hype bottles on the site were also priced well below market value. Then, when I attempted to visit the site’s Instagram page, I was brought to a missing page. I also found it odd that the site’s apparent name, “One Stop Bourbons,” did not match its logo, which reads “One Stop Spirits Shop.” The site provided a physical address in Pittsburgh, which I looked up and found to be the site of Fine Wine & Good Spirits, which is an actual store run by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Seemed legitimate enough, but when I tried searching for Weller on their site, I got zero results. Something wasn’t adding up.

Finally, I googled “One Stop Bourbons” and quickly discovered that the site itself was recently investigated by the Better Business Bureau, which in August issued an alert about the site, warning customers not to shop there after several complaints of orders having been placed but not received and calls for refunds going unanswered.

The BBB also confirmed in August that the site is not registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State, which is required by law, and Fine Wine & Good Spirits has also confirmed that it has no affiliation with the site. The site is still up and operating, though, which prompted the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to issue its own warning to consumers in November ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Stick with known names

The lesson from One Stop Bourbons is this: Don’t sacrifice common sense to try and get a deal. In all likelihood, the cheapest online price for Weller 12 will likely come from ReserveBar. The prices there vary depending on your location and availability in your area, as the site sources its supply from local stores, but you may get lucky.

For me, searching in Connecticut in December 2023, ReserveBar had Weller 12 starting at $183. Tailored to my area, ReserveBar’s shot up to $313. Still, someone in the country is getting that bottle on ReserveBar for $183, they’re just not in the Nutmeg State.

If you want to shop around outside of ReserveBar, keep in mind that the best prices you’ll come across will come from local liquor stores around the country that may or may not ship to your state. The best prices I was able to find came from Purdy’s Discount Wine & Liquor in New York ($225), Bottle Republic in New Jersey ($229) and Hi-Time Wine Cellars in California ($250), respectively.

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