“What a heavy burden is a reputation that has grow to be too well-known.” – Voltaire
The Willett Household Property bourbons occupy uncommon air in right now’s whiskey world. Onerous to search out, excessive priced, and ceaselessly cited as among the finest bourbon available on the market; these expressions, diverse although they might be, have achieved a cult-like standing. That’s largely attributable to their now legendary releases of well-aged, sourced distillate which has been slowly depleted by savvy barrel consumers throughout the nation.
I’m speaking right here in regards to the likes of LeNell Camacho Santa Ana whose “Purple Hook Rye” single barrel picks from Willett are among the many most famed modern ryes in existence. Or take into account bottles from Jack Rose Eating Saloon’s proprietor Invoice Thomas like “The Iron Fist” and “Velvet Glove,” twin 23 yr previous choices which might be additionally extremely regarded among the many Willett cognoscenti.
The checklist goes on to incorporate the Rathskeller Rye and Speakeasy Choose Bourbon from the Seelbach resort together with Doug Phillips’ legendary Inexperienced Ink (believed to be the very first Willett single barrel) – these transcendent one-off expressions, launched early on from Willett’s sourced barrel inventory, fashioned the spine of the favorable status they at the moment take pleasure in.
Whereas the times of discovering 20+ yr previous Willett single barrels at an affordable worth are lengthy gone, the model has been exhausting at work distilling their very own whiskey, a lot of which is now 9 years previous. Although the standard hasn’t but ascended to the heights of these early releases, it appears nobody has advised those that promote whiskey on the secondary market; like I mentioned, Willett Household Property single barrels stay excessive priced to at the present time.
A part of it is because of their distinctive taste profile, however I’d argue a lot of the intrigue stems from their mystique. Many bourbon fans hunt “purple tops” purely for the very fact they’ve heard the legend of these early releases, or as a result of attributable to their rarity and exorbitant price ticket they really feel secure assuming the juice is well worth the squeeze. The problem, even for skilled bourbon fans, in deciphering the barrel numbers hand written on the entrance of Willett Household Property bottles solely provides to that patina of exclusivity and serves to extend its attract.
Individually, I’ve loved a number of superlative pours of Willett Household Property bourbons however I can even attest to their inconsistency; to be anticipated from single barrel releases, doubly so once you supply from quite a lot of distilleries and couple that with your individual distillate. A number of the sources mentioned to make up Willett’s early inventory of barrels embrace such diverse distilleries as Bernheim, 4 Roses, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, and even Stitzel-Weller. Due to this variety there are positively many Willett Household Property expressions which might be of outstanding high quality, although there are others which might be no higher than Willett’s on a regular basis choices like Rowan’s Creek or Noah’s Mill. So the place will the topic of right now’s evaluate fall on that spectrum? We are going to quickly discover out.
At the moment I will likely be reviewing the Willett Wheated 8 Yr Bourbon, a model new launch from the distillery which comes full with a model new black obsidian bottle and, in fact, a purple prime. Regardless of the inclusion of a purple prime it’s clear that Willett wished this bottle to face out from the remainder of their lineup they usually’ve actually succeeded in that.
It must also be mentioned that their wheated mashbill is probably their most sought-after and has lengthy been one in every of their most restricted choices. On this useful mash invoice breakdown from Blake on Bourbonr we are able to see that, not less than at one time, their wheated mash invoice was 65% corn, 20% wheat, and 15% malted barley, with a barrel entry proof of 115. Assuming the data is correct; we are able to additionally see they’ve solely launched 3 collection of barrels with their wheated or experimental wheated mash payments.
Although Willett has not launched the mash invoice for this specific launch, we do have the next from the model’s web site: “The primary launch of Willett Wheated Bourbon was distilled within the early Spring of 2013 and bottled within the Summer season of 2022. The proprietary mashbill is barreled at 115 proof in Char #4 American Oak. We bottle with out chill-filtration to protect probably the most taste doable.”
That’s not a whole lot of info to go on, however it does verify the barrel entry proof (bottling proof for this expression is 108, or 54% ABV) and it’s good to know that this product is non chill-filtered. As for added specs: because the title signifies, that is an eight yr bourbon and the instructed retail worth is $250.
With regard to the fee: you may bear in mind what I famous twice above: Willett purple tops are excessive priced. A part of what we’ll be parsing right now is whether or not or not this expression warrants such an asking worth, and it bears mentioning that at $250 this must be thought-about a super-premium providing which places it in competitors with the Pappy Van Winkle lineup of wheated bourbons extra so than the Weller lineup. That’s to say, the direct competitors for this expression consists of among the most extremely rated whiskey in America. As a result of the wheated bourbon class has been quickly increasing there are a plethora of choices each in that worth vary and in that age vary which implies that Willett Wheated 8 Yr Bourbon is dealing with an uphill battle to justify its prohibitive price ticket (full disclosure: this was a pattern supplied freed from cost by a buddy of mine). Onward march!
Willett 8 Yr Wheated Bourbon – Evaluate
On the nostril: Citrus zest, pink apple pores and skin, and fig Newtons erupt at first earlier than fall spices like clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon be a part of the fray. Over time I decide up a touch of grape soda and even cherries and vanilla frosting. The nostril is exceedingly nice and although it’s a bit gentle I’d say it has a whole lot of pretty candy layers to discover.
Within the mouth: Cherry and vanilla bounce out at first, and although it’s a bit mute getting into the mouth there’s a good sizzle and a few slight effervescence at mid palate which sticks round for a medium-to-long end with a reasonable Kentucky hug. That is really fairly fulfilling. Honey, Fig-Newton-and-cinnamon, plus grape soda come by means of on the palate as does the clove and nutmeg from the nostril. For the end I’m left with cherry, a little bit of melted white chocolate, and a few candy oak.
Conclusions:
Am I happy with my expertise? Sure, with a caveat. I paid $0 for this pattern, I got here into it with measured expectations which have been met, and now I can share this info with you pricey reader. This bottle is completely positive, fairly tasty even! However completely positive doesn’t measure as much as a $250 asking worth.
Had been this bottle marked at $80 (roughly 1/3rd of the asking worth) then given the packaging, attract of the Willett title, and high quality of the whiskey contained inside I believe there can be a whole lot of completely satisfied shoppers. Or, maybe there can be only some gravely upset shoppers relegated to buying this at an extortionate secondary markup. Because it stands, I’ve already seen this bottle priced at a 4x markup for $1,000.
I believe there are two clear sides of the coin: on one we’ve those that would applaud Willett for pricing this expression in step with expectations for his or her model. Although it has nonetheless seen an exorbitant worth hike on the secondary market there are those that would commend them for “getting their piece of the pie” and being unafraid to cost this in step with different restricted version bourbons. I perceive this argument.
Then we’ve those that will inevitably really feel burned after paying a premium worth for what’s, frankly, a good-not-great expression. It’s that camp I empathize with probably the most, and it’s with them in thoughts that I’m happy to have had this expertise. With the ability to do this expression for free of charge to myself after which share my sincere ideas with you, pricey reader, is a chance I relish.
That mentioned, I hope you’ll keep away from this launch regardless of its appreciable deserves. I do know from expertise that the Willett model can do higher and at $250 there’s no query in my thoughts that you are able to do higher as nicely. On high quality alone I’d rating this larger, however I really feel inclined to dock a full two factors for the pricing. Thus is the heavy burden of a reputation that has grow to be too well-known.
