Up tonight is another bottle running low in my bunker that I'm trying to kill off to make some room for the impending Bourbon Christmas nearly upon us. I can't think of a better time to review a bottle than when it's down for the count so here we have it. This one has an interesting backstory in that it isn't empty because I drank all of it. This particular Willett selection dropped in our area last December but sadly I was out of town and missed it. In an odd twist of fate though my local called me about five months later saying they had been able to secure an extra. I immediately drove there and scooped it up. It was a rather mild day, the high was around 70 and it was overcast. I picked the bottle up around 1:30pm and drove back to work. At 4pm I go back to my car to leave work. Immediately upon opening my door I smell whiskey and think uh-oh. I reach for the bottle and the brown paper bag is soaking wet - as is my passenger seat and the floorboards of my car. The bottle had blown the cork completely off, fallen over, and spilled everywhere. Later that night I took some pictures:
Notice the perfect clean break in the wax around the cork. I've since learned through various other groups that Willett wax top bottles are notorious for this… when I posted on another group about this several people chimed in that the exact same thing had happened to them. Lesson learned: regardless of the temperature outside, never leave a wax top whiskey bottle in your car. My car smelled like a rolling whiskey barrel for about a month and on hot days sometimes I can still smell it four months later.
The real shame here though is fiasco happened to what is one of the better Willett bottles I've ever tasted. So on that spoiler note, let's get on with the review.
59.7% ABV; Aged 7 years; $65; Selected by Boonedocks
The nose is a very classic high proof moderately aged bourbon. There is a lot of heat if you don't let it open up but after about an hour it really calms down once the alcohol dissipates. After that there is loads of sweetness - caramel sugars, vanilla, toffee, and just the right amount of oaky goodness. It's a very, very good nose.
The taste is slightly young but not what I would call under ripe. It's hot but not overly brash. The palate and finish are intensely sweet with caramel, sugar, and vanilla for days. The finish lasts a very, very long time. It's very close to Booker's in overall experience which makes sense because the age and proof are pretty much the same. It doesn't have that peanut butter funky Beam yeast flavor though so I would say it has all the great things I love about Booker's without the things I am not as fond of. That's a pretty high bar as far as I am concerned because I think Booker's is a stellar whiskey. All in all, it's got the umph and gusto you want in a big barrel proofer but also all the sweetness and lingering finish expect in a delicious fine bourbon. It may not have the finesse and complexity of an old barrel proof wheater but other than that it's got everything you want in an upper echelon pour.
Rating: A
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