Review: Willett Family Estate 4-Year Single Barrel Rye - Rye Beastie of the Year!!

Review: Willett Family Estate 4-Year Single Barrel Rye - Rye Beastie of the Year!!

Sometimes You're Just Smitten

We firmly believe that everyone will find that special someone.  The soul mate, the everyday best friend, the Friday night in pajamas watching 'Chopped' on the Food Network type of love.  The same is true for Whiskey.  There are the special occasion bottles like Pappy and Port Ellen.  There are impossible to find gems like AH Hirsch that you pine away your entire life dreaming about.  Then there are simple everyday rock stars.  When you find one of those, you smile, because you know that you can pick up a few bottles, share it with friends, and know that you can always come home to a great drink.  For richer of poorer, watching the years pass, growing old together, yada yada.

Willett Family Estate

Sketch of Historical Willett Distillery
http://www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com

The Willett family historically was one of the preeminent whiskey producers in the country, operating from the mid eighteen-hundreds up until the 1970's.  When they stopped making whiskey in the 70's they became one of the largest independent bottlers in the country, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.  Heaven Hill is located right across the street from KBD and is generally known to produce the majority of their stock.  KBD does have other sources though, historically among them barrels from the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery (the holy grail of shuttered whiskey makers).  KBD makes brands such as Johnny Drum, Old Bardstown, Kentucky Vintage, Noah's Mill, Rowan's Creek, Black Maple Hill, Michter's, and Old Pogue.  We're huge fans of Michter's, and some of these other brands are nothing to sneeze at, but Willett Family Estate is really the cream of the crop when it comes to KBD.  It's the flagship product blessed with the original family name and crest to boot.  The Willett family has now reclaimed the original site and begun to distill genuine 100% Willett whiskey as of 2012.  We're looking forward to tasting the results once it's had time to age and end up in a bottle.

Willett Distillery today

The Willett Family Estate line all contain age statements and barrel numbers, which is awesome.  They also produce no-age-statement Willett Pot Still which comes in a clear glass bottle that looks like a still.  The Pot Still is a decent drinking whiskey in its own right (it also comes in a giant 1.5L bottle which looks great on your bar), and very widely accessible, however the WFE brings it to another level.  WFE includes bourbon and rye in ages from 4-years for rye and 6-years for bourbon all the way up to 21-years, and in some very limited batches even older.  Truth be told we have one bottle of Willett 21-Year (said to be the last of the SW stock) sealed in the vault at SmokyBeast Headquarters (yes it's an Ikea cabinet) awaiting a special occasion, so stay tuned for that review. But for today we're focused on the Willett Family Estate 4-Year Rye.

Tasting Notes


Appearance:  Sexy.  In the bottle and in the glass.  Refined, upscale sexy.

Nose:  Huge vanilla.  Nougat, chocolate, and deep crisp dark rye.  Then the spices: anise, clove, cinnamon stick, pepper.  Finally - a little whiff of...  Bazooka Joe bubble gum?  Something like that, very sweet, sugary candy.

Body:  So clean and delicious.  The sweetness comes back with a little bit of caramel popcorn.  The rye grains are so compact and punchy, it's a great balance of sweet vanilla candy and crisp dry grain.  There's also a hint of that oiled leather, old wood taste that you get from much older whiskies floating in there.

Finish:  A very long and lovely finish for a rye.  There's a hint of char/smoke, some welcome spirit warmth, and more of the rich vanilla.  Early in the bottle we preferred a few drops of water, once it had a few weeks to open up, we preferred it straight (this is common with Willetts, open the bottle as soon as you get it and let it sit for a couple of weeks, you'll be delighted).

Rye Beastie of the Year

Willett is a damn tasty rye.  It's got a ton of body, but it's also very smooth and drinkable.  There's just something about the balance of flavor that elevates it to a level above much of the rye we've tasted this year.  It's 110 proof, which is an awesome alcohol content (read: one glass of this and you're well on your way), and perfectly in the pocket flavor-wise.  But the kicker is that for a young, four year whiskey, it's incredibly smooth without sacrificing bold flavor.  

And here it is for only $75.  Just kidding, it's $39.99 from our friends at DrinkUpNY!!  A better quality at this price you will never find.  We're almost tempted not to announce how good this stuff is and just buy a few cases for ourselves while the supplies last.  But seriously you can't go wrong.  At under $40 it's a SmokyBeast "A".  Pick up a few if you're in the mood.  It's a very classy bottle and will make a perfect gift for the holidays, but we have a feeling that once you try a sip you will be keeping them for yourself.  You'll be kicking off your shoes, firing up cable television, and settling down with your new sweetheart before you know it.

Cheers!  /SB



P.S. Don't miss our discount tickets to Whiskey Jewbilee which is fast approaching in the second week of October.  They have an impressive lineup of tastings planned and it will be a great way to start off the holiday weekend. We'll be doing an interview with the founder Joshua Hatton next week. For now click here to get 10% off:

Jewbilee Mt Kisco October 9th: https://whiskyjewbilee.ticketbud.com/mt-kisco?pc=beasty13

Jewbilee NYC October 10th: https://whiskyjewbilee.ticketbud.com/nycity?pc=beasty13