Willett - Family Estate - Straight Rye Whiskey - 4 Year
$70.00
Willett – Family Estate – Straight Rye Whiskey – 4 Year
Collection: Family Estate Small Batch Rye
Proof: 109.6
Age: 4 Year
Distillery: The Willett Distillery
Type: Rye Whiskey
Mash: Believed to be a Blended Rye (Mostly Rye recipes with Corn and Malted Barley) – Mash Bill undisclosed
Website: The Willett Distillery
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: Caramel, Spearmint Gum, Pipe Tobacco, Herbal Tea, Crisp Apple.
Taste/Palate: Thinner Mouthfeel. Mild Heat. Herbal Mint Tea with Sweet N Low taste. Rye Spice picks up in the midpalate and transitions from Herbal to light Pepper and Clove.
Finish: The Finish starts with Baking Spices as you move out of the midpalate. The alcohol heat picks up a little bit. On the tail end of the finish you can get notes of Dark Fruit (Cherries) and the Spearmint makes an appearance again.
Verdict: To start, I’m not a fan of mint whiskies. I tend to pick up mint in a lot of ryes out there. This one has spearmint notes, but it’s not overpowering and doesn’t come over the top reminding me of having a mint julip like some I’ve come across. For a 4 year there are complexities that elevate this to the good category. It doesn’t get super high marks for me because I would have to be in a “mood” to seek this out and pull it off the shelf in the future. My verdict is if you can find it for under $75 it’s a keeper and a good addition to your collection, it will provide variety good variety if you are a rye fan or are hosting a rye fan.
MSRP: BUY Price Ceiling: $75 (The most I’d pay for this bottle)
The Story: Having been in MI for a year and a half now I find that seeing Willett products in the wild is rare. They are simply not on the shelf. Any of them. When my friend was doing the entire bourbon trail I had him grab me a few Willett Products (Willett Pot Still, Johnny Drum, Kentucky Vintage, and this Rye). Spoiler alert I plan to review them all. I first tried Willett Pot still years ago when my palate was less refined and ranged from “I like it” to “Meh”. I wasn’t a huge fan of Willett Pot Still years ago. I now have the opportunity to revisit some of the product lines starting with this.
The Distillery’s Story: If you take a gander at the Willett website you will see their bourbon story goes back many many moons. It’s an interesting read. The cliff notes version is they’ve been around a long time. Based in KY. The Willet Family Estate Rye that we are currently diving into here was first introduced in 2008. It’s been around for a while. Most ryes you will find out there probably originated from Canada or in America from Indiana. Willet brought their KY brand to Ryes. It provides a twist to the market that’s populated by Indiana ryes that have been sourced and rebranded.
In Summary: Is this ground breaking? No. I just got done reviewing 2 different renditions of Four Roses – Single Barrel – Barrel Proofs. Those were something special. This 4 year rye is good, but not “something special”. I like a good rye that is complex that doesn’t have much “mint” to it. This does have some mint. If this sat longer and was a 6-10 year I’d be super interested in how it matured because in my opinion this 4 year needs more time cooking in the barrel.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Solid. It hit all of what’s expected.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Nose, Palate, and Finish I rank regardless of cost. Value (recent addition) is ranked based on taste vs price.
Reviewer: David S
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