I’ve tasted and reviewed quite a lot of Willett Family Estate bourbon over the years now. My main takeaway is they mostly land in the good range with a few being exceptional and a few being slightly above average. While that’s a good track record most whiskeys, that’s not so good for a bourbon that demands $120+ retail prices (when you can find it) and much higher secondary cash/trade cost. The last Willett I reviewed was unfortunately one of those that was a rather terrible value - it wasn’t necessarily bad but it wasn’t really that great either. Such is the single barrel sourced whiskey gamble you take with the Willett Family Estate line. So on that note, let’s play another game of Willett roulette with a bottle that was purchased at the gift shop back in 2014.
Aged 13 years; 60.5% ABV; $130; Bottle 46 of 104; Distilled in Kentucky, Bottled by Willett
Nose: Typical of an upper age cask strength bourbon - very heavy on the vanilla and caramel wood sweets along with a ton of woodiness. I’m guessing low rye content here. It’s really nice and not terribly hot for the proof though this bottle has been open for quite a while.
Taste: Tastes just like the nose. It’s pretty much all wood sweets and oak without a whole lot of rye bite. While it’s pretty woody, the proof is high enough that there’s so much intense flavor you never really get any bitterness from the oak. The finish is a really decadent creme brulee blast with minimal ethanol or spice heat.
Thoughts: This is a great, classic, no bullshit, cask strength bourbon. While it’s refreshing to find that in the sourced Willett line, that should be the standard rather than a surprise. I’d be pretty reluctant to purchase or trade for another one of these in the future without having tasted it first. As an alternative, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is about the same age, almost half the price, and super consistent in quality. I’ll buy those on sight all day long.
Rating: B+
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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