Willett A Blend of Straight Whiskeys

Finding a name for this bottle to search for was a challenge. The story behind this for me was I knew someone who wanted it, saw it...figured I'd grab it and share. I guess I was fortunate with the price and point bs. 120-130 bucks. I'm not sure I'll review this with a friend...we might, but there's just so much American whiskey I have to review and rye isn't a friend's thing. It's just difficult to bring something like this up for review. Nose - To be frank, it's not that bold. You get a pleasant minty wintery rye element with a nice amount of very soft oak. Combine that with some cherry cough drops, and really, I think you've more or less got this one figured out. It's as if they took the 4-year rye, reduced it to 80%, and then added oak. It's both what you'd expect with a blend of bourbon and rye and somewhat disappointing because the bourbon isn't contributing much, but Willet purple top bourbon isn't generally that bold on the nose to my knowledge. Taste - Earthy mossy oak with layers of spice from the rye and low sweetness caramel and oak dust. Undeniably unique. And with each sip, you really can discover new elements here. I sometimes get a sweetness up front, and other times the earthy, almost vegetal elements come through instead. The more you sip this, the more bourbon notes emerge up front through more traditional sweet caramel and vanilla notes, and the rye moves more toward the middle and finish. One thing is for sure: this wasn't a great bourbon, but it wasn't a bad one either. It was likely a very dull and middle-of-the-road bourbon that they felt needed something else, and MGP rye came to the rescue. Yeah, I'm starting to get red cough drops at the end of a bourbon now. Finish - LONG! Really, this is an impressive finish as it truly coats the mouth and lingers indefinitely. Mostly just good rye spice and quality oak casks are what linger here. Honestly, this is a winner and a loser. If you're excited by 6-year Willet bourbon and 10-year MGP rye blended... I think you'll be let down. I don't think 6-year Willet bourbon is any good. Sorry, purple top enthusiasts. And while the sum of the parts doesn't resemble either part individually, I think we wasted some epic MGP rye to give life to boring bourbon. That said, I know this is rare and I know it's expensive, but you really want 2-3 glasses of this in one sitting because it grows on you as you acclimate to it. And in that regard, that's why I'm scoring this higher and why I think there's a winner here; it's just difficult to reach. There's so much complexity and depth here to a whiskey that seems to arrive like a freight train. It's really bold and full of all sorts of crazy, fun flavors. But it's not a $130 flavor experience, even if the components would normally justify that level of spending. I'm also not sure this bourbon is actually the same bourbon they put in the purple top. There's a part of me thinking it's sourced Barton at 6 years old (is that a thing?) Adding water brings out more classic bourbon spice and some funky butterscotch notes, by the way. Even some dark chocolate with perhaps some sort of cayenne pepper combination. OK, so the score... I'm really all over the place. So my system: under a 1 is basically trash. 1 star is a quality whiskey worth drinking for the right price. 2 stars is average. 3 stars is really good stuff that you really want unless it's outrageously expensive. 4 stars is wow, $400 kind of level stuff. 5 stars are unicorns and the things dreams are made of. 2.5 on this one. I can't think of a comparison to try and set my score against. But let's see. I gave the 4-year rye a 3-star rating. That is a whiskey I just like more, but it's not as complex. I also might have overrated that one... but I'm also buying another bottle of that when mine is gone. I see some good stuff, like the Four Gate Batch 11 Ruby Rye, which I bought a second of at 2.5... I might need to get better at scoring and buying, lol. So for this one, I'd want to give it a 2.65, so I guess 2.7 stars. I honestly think this is a winner at the price point; it's a bit disappointing when you dream of what it COULD be based on the label. But overall, there's so much good here, and even the bad isn't too bad.

Nose: brown sugar and cherry Body: brown sugar and stone fruits persist, accompanied by a nutty quality like bread or cookies Finish: the rye's heat and spice emerge here Enjoyable

Happy Birthday!