u/Old_Butterscotch8424

INTRODUCTION: Today I am stepping into the realm of extremely overpriced whiskey with the brand everyone knows but is too afraid to buy: Willett. This distillery is known for having absurdly priced (but legendary) bottles that people are either rightfully hesitant to purchase or way too eager to drop 1k on. While I’m definitely not the latter, it just so happens that I’m still a huge sucker for these absurdly expensive bottles…

I’m sorry, I can’t help it!

While they disclose virtually nothing about their aging/selection process, it’s become clear that over the years these single barrels have started to take advantage of Willett’s own distillate rather than the sourced Heaven Hill/Bernheim barrels they became famous for. On this particular Willett Wednesday I’ll be taking a look at their own 11 year distillate picked by the crazy controversial OHLQ barrel pick team (I did try this before buying, so don’t judge my blind faith). Let’s dig in!

PRICE: I don’t wanna talk about it

AGE: 11 years

PROOF: 132.6

COLOR: Dark smoky amber

NOSE: I’m welcomed with sweet tobacco, cinnamon sugar, molasses, caramel, and beautiful vanilla custard. Nice layers of black cherry, candied grapes, and blueberry pie filling add a pleasant complexity to the nose while accentuating the dessert-like profile.

There’s so much of this bready cinnamon quality that comes across as a cobbler/pie crust, which is absolutely incredible.

PALATE: Dense, and I mean DENSE leathery dark chocolate with tons of oak spice that dominates the front palate. Immediately after, I get loads of earthy tobacco, raisin, plum, and a nice vanilla pudding that keeps it somewhat consistent with the nose.

It’s really not a sweet palate at all, but this has the absurdly oily and rich mouthfeel that you’d expect from a dusty whiskey released in the 70s. It’s that good.

FINISH: The palate fades into cocoa powder, more tobacco, burnt caramel, and confectionary sugar. This is all complimented by some deep rich oak, mocha, toffee, and barrel char, which culminates into a chocolate brownie character.

CONCLUSION: It’s shocking how different this is from the usual Willett profile. Instead of the sweet cinnamon red hot quality I’ve gotten on other single barrels, there’s this indescribably deep, rich, and dark tobacco/chocolate character that I’ve never experienced before. The only nitpick I can bring to this profile is that it isn’t the most complex palate ever, but for drinkers who love a good mouthfeel, this is one of the oiliest and most leathery pours I’ve ever experienced. Still can’t say I recommend this for the price, but regardless, I’ll enjoy this while I have it.

Next up I’ve got a 14 year that’ll compete with this quite nicely…

Cheers!

RATING: 9.4 (t8ke)

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

INTRODUCTION: Today I walked outside and saw the sun shining, heard birds chirping, and my dog was as happy as could be. As I sat there and basked in the world’s beautiful glow, I could only think about one thing: how amazing a Busch Light Peach would taste right now. Unfortunately, because Busch hates me and everyone else who tolerates their beer, I had to settle for the next best option: Still Austin.

Within the bottled-in-bond lineup I can’t help but feel that the spring rye is a little overlooked. Coming in at a lower age statement with nothing truly unique about it besides its 100% Texas rye mashbill, I can see why people jump for the red/blue corn over this one. With every other release getting an age bump over the past year, I’m curious to see if this offering is evolving like the other BiBs, or if it’s stuck in young rye limbo. Let’s find out!

PRICE: $80

AGE: 4 years

PROOF: 100

COLOR: Bright caramel

NOSE: Lemon, honey, strawberry rhubarb, cherry pie filling, cinnamon, all wrapped in a touch of thyme.

As I revisit the nose these aromas all combine to form rich and DELICIOUS smelling brown sugar butter.

PALATE: Light palate with plenty of citrus zest, rye spice, cinnamon sugar, ripe pear, candied oranges, and black pepper. I definitely see why the BiB rye is a spring release with a palate this vibrant and airy.

FINISH: The finish leans heavier into rye character/dill with additional notes of black tea, lemon grass, peach candy, butter, and dry oak tannins.

CONCLUSION: I’m a fan! It’s actually a very pleasant outdoor pour with tons of bright and varying flavors while drinking light enough to make it absurdly crushable. There also lies my biggest gripe however: it’s too light, and I wish it had a bit more heft on the mouthfeel. It also doesn’t seem to have improved as much as the other BiB releases have, which is a minor criticism, but noticeable in context of how much Still Austin has been improving with time. Despite all that, I have a hard time complaining when the pour is this solid and enjoyable. Maybe I’ll try mixing it with a can of Busch Peach if I ever find one.

Cheers!

RATING: 7.8 (t8ke)

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

INTRODUCTION: This bottle has always held a special place in my heart. When I got into bourbon a few years ago, I was happy with my Eagle rares, rare breeds, and Jack Daniel’s, but I never really got to taste the extra nice stuff (even now, I’ve still never tried a van winkle product). That all changed when I found this bottle at Heaven Hill on a random Thursday. I was hesitant at first, but ultimately I bit the $300 bullet and told myself that it was a one time thing (boy was I wrong…). After opening my new grail that night, all my doubts about the cost disappeared. At the time it was easily the best pour of bourbon I ever had, and after sipping on it over the years it has remained a nostalgic favorite on my shelf. As I approach the end of this bottle I figured it’s time to give this a formal review, just to see if it holds up after all this time. Coming in at a beautiful 18 years and 120 proof, I’m confident some Heaven Hill juice this old won’t disappoint.

PRICE: $300

AGE: 18

PROOF: 120

COLOR: Light amber

NOSE: Rich oak spice, red fruit, caramel, peanut butter, milk chocolate, and pleasant cherry hard candy aromas dominate the front of the nose. As I dive further I get more confectionary sugar and a nice molasses underbelly to round out a delicate, but well-layered experience.

PALATE: Decently oily mouthfeel with loads of oak spice upfront, followed by sweet peanut butter, blackberry marmalade, cola, and nice airy leather. It’s a much lighter experience than what the nose would lead you to believe.

Also worth adding is that the palate reminds me a bit of Mexican hot chocolate, with a good amount of sweet tobacco, cinnamon, and a light cocoa dusting to round it all out.

FINISH: Extremely heavy on sweet, drying, cherry-infused oak with smoky tobacco, caramelized sugar, red fruit influence, and light chocolate, which gives this whiskey a very prominent candy-like quality. It’s bright, vibrant, and carries some orange zest, but doesn’t hang around for as long as I would like it to.

CONCLUSION: Eh… what can I say, I’m still a sucker for this bottle. On this pour I did get a sense that it was fairly oxidized because it wasn’t as rich/coating as it once was, but at the end of the day all of the delicious flavors were still there. I think what drew me in initially and what this whiskey still does exceptionally well is its approachability. It doesn’t do anything too crazy, but it embodies all the quintessential bourbon flavors that anyone can appreciate. While over the years this has definitely fallen off a tad for me, it’s hard to deny that it is still a killer bourbon, and it’s easy to see why it was a favorite as I was starting out.

Cheers!

RATING: 8.8 (t8ke)

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect