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A few of us just purchased 8 bottles of different Willett whiskeys and I cannot wait for them to get here. Here is the info on each bottling from the Party Source.

WILLETT 13 Year Barrel 3665

No. 3665 illustrates why unfiltered whiskeys should, with rare exceptions, be drunk with a bit of water. The straight nose shows a mellow, nutty, even slightly oxidized character; it’s a pleasant aroma. But add a little water and it explodes into shimmering rye-violet floral multi-hued fruit basket, topped with a dollop of toasty vanilla oak. The shift from straight to watered is astounding, and I feel sorry for someone who can’t bear the thought of taking water in their whiskey and will never inhale this. It doesn’t dilute the flavor, it completes it.
Like the nose, the cotton-soft mouth is a close balance that starts sweet and rye-strong and then, only then, brings back the drier fruit. Yay fruit! It’s like tasting in color, as Dorothy steps out the door into Oz, and we’re not in Bardstown anymore. At all times and in all ways, this is flawlessly, in the full sense of the word, balanced, in terms of everything. The finish, for example, is packed with rye, but even this is elegantly composed, a gentle rye caress, not the lash of some Bourbon.

Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 112.2º
Age: 13 Years, distilled 5/14/1996

WILLETT 13 Year Barrel 3696

This 13 year shows a deft hand in the rye department, bringing big but not imbalanced rye quickly in the palate. Texturally it is rich but not huge, with a hint of sweetness at the entry, but that rye surge quickly balances the budget. Very nice Bourbon, sophisticated, and dangerously drinkable with that tangy clove-black pepper-spearmint rye action.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 112.4º
Age: 13 Years

WILLETT 13 Year Barrel 3701

No. 3701 has much in common with the other two 13s—layers of aroma, fine balance, ripe fulsome flavor—but it also has more oak. From the straight nose to the fruit-spice finish, an attractive drying oak presence persists with bold authority. If you like a bit more oak in your whiskey, go for 3701. But I must stress, this oak thing is relative to the other two Willett 13s. Compared to most oak-strong Bourbons, 3701 is a dew-dappled rosebud.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 113.4º
Age: 13 Years

WILLETT 8 Year Barrel 375

One reads of “smooth” or “seamless” flavor. And then there is this eight-year-old Bourbon, constructed, so it seems, without even the mortar of oak between expertly fitted, hand-hewn blocks of flavor. Everything is so carefully, confidently balanced. Pity that some drinkers looking for glaring, blockbuster flavors might perceive some lack. In fact, most every desirable Bourbon flavor is here—but subtly so.
The nose, with water—what a nose!—shows a near-Armagnac level of integration between fruit and oak. (You know Bourbon is getting good when it compares to artisan French brandy in construction of flavor. The difference is, this Bourbon accomplishes at eight years what takes Armagnac twice as long.) The late, great Michael Jackson had a phrase he would use for a whiskey of this quality: a “dovetail” of aromas, in which every scent gets equal billing. There’s a terrific little fruit aroma thing, somewhere between blueberry and black currant (and adding a few extra water molecules help bring it out). And on the tongue, rye spice is a sophisticated sprinkling across the polished notes of corn, clean oak and multi-hued fruit, as if the Iron Chef-master distiller took a pinch of rye between his fingers and sprinkled it over his finished dish.

Extra kudos are deserved of Drew Kulsveen at Willett for hooking me up with whiskeys like this. He and I share an affinity for the originating distiller of #375, and I thank him for it and moreover hope to drink with him a bottle of #375…an event for which I have no ulterior motive at all, I assure you.

Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 121.1º
Age: 8 Years

WILLETT 8 Year Barrel 374

A little extra water helps this strong whiskey, especially the nose—a fairly classic, closely joined affair with corn pudding, cocoa, clean oak, vanilla, rye-spicy fruit. These all return in the mouth, a shimmering, dryish, fresh, medium-full-bodied spread of nicely spiced blue fruit Bourbon. The balance between these flavors is close, teetering back and forth in an almost maddening fashion. Barrel #374 is a very nice whiskey, a dancer not a bruiser. Compared to Willett eight year #375 it is perhaps a bit fuller-bodied and richer, also more direct and less…mysterious.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 124.6º
Age: 8 Years, distilled 2/20/2001

WILLETT 6 Year Barrel 779

Once some water gets added, this whiskey shows a savory wholeness of corn kernel, nougat, oak, earth and generous, carefully tuned rye. It is well-put-together, with an oily straight nose but thereafter a fine balance. The palate entry is particularly nice, with a rich nougat character that slowly give way to rye grain. A medium-full body leads to a dryish though not oaky-tannic finish. The six-year and five-year have much in common, including a similar overall body and elegant corn-rye balance, but the six is rather more evolved.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 126.6º
Age: 6 Years

WILLETT 5 Year Barrel 744

Surely one of the blessings of a young whiskey is that the oak barrel will never dominate it. That’s the case here, as the straight nose shows fresh cooked corn, minty rye and minimal oak barrel aromas. Water brings out a touch of drying oak, along with juicy fruits and more rye. The mouth is medium-full, ripe and clean with considerable depth. It’s well-balanced between corn, oak, rye and spice, and the finish shows excellent length. This whiskey and the three-year Willett suggest to me that young Bourbon is better than we realize, when bottled purely and without filtration.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 119.7º
Age: 5 Years

WILLETT 3 Year Barrel 1370

A dram like this fat piece of corn squeezin’s suggests that age is required for complexity but not necessarily “smoothness.” This young Bourbon has plenty of velvety touch, yet lacks in particular the complex, emergent rye grain notes of an older whiskey. That said it is quite well done, given the age, and moreover is a lot of fun to drink, with it’s big, bold, soft body and gristy corn. Surely bottling without chill-filtration has preserved the best parts of this whiskey; I have to imagine that chill-filtration and 90 proof bottling would strip all the guts out of it. Mostly, it’s a chance to play with barrel proof at an affordable price.
Style: Straight Bourbon, rye mash
Proof: 123.1º
Age: 3 Years

Be on the look out for updates next week, which will feature the meeting dates for the rest of the year, along with our meeting themes.  We are also coming up with a board of directors, who will be responsible for areas within the Society.  In addition we will be designing some merchandise available to purchase.

We are also looking at adding dues as it takes a lot of time & money to put on these events.  The money will go directly into the Society’s fund and no one will be getting a “paycheck”.  All the money will be filtered back into The Society – be it bottle purchases or anything else.

Not exactly sure what it will entail – but keep checking back for updates.  The good news is that with the board of directors, we will be able to keep on track since I won’t be the only one doing the planning anymore.

Good things are coming!

As many of you know, I just got back from Kentucky.  I went with Charlie (my brother) and Mike (my dad) in honor of Mike’s 60th birthday.  We not only went to the Kentucky Derby, but visited several bourbon distilleries as well.  We visited Woodford Reserve, Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace.  Monday was certainly the best day, touring both Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace.

Maker’s Mark is coming out with Maker’s 46 this summer, but unfortunately we did not get to taste it.  Buffalo Trace has so many things lined up its mind boggling…  more and more experiments, Taylor bottlings (have to wait 10 years for this one), and the ever intriguing and mysterious Single Oak Project (http://www.singleoakproject.com) that will be ready to go in 4-5 years according to Mark Brown (President/CEO of Buffalo Trace/Sazerac).

The tour at Buffalo Trace was severely shortened due to the fact that within about 12 hours the distillery was going to flood (due to 48 hours of rain the previous two days). We did a tour of mostly their new attractions (cooperage display, new movie room) along with their small batch bottling line. We also got to see the river next to the distillery and the fact that it was about 8 inches away from flooding some of the buildings.

Though the best part of our time there was visiting with Mark and Angie (head of PR) and hearing their stories and future plans.

If you are going to visit Kentucky be sure to visit Buffalo Trace and do their Hard Hat Tour – by far the best experience in the land of Bourbon.

Four Roses is releasing a new bourbon to commemorate their 100th Anniversary.  It’s 17yrs old and 110 proof.  For those of you who follow Four Rose’s recipes – the mash bill is OBSV.

According to John Hansell, who rated the bourbon an 87, “if you like your bourbons bold, stimulating and challenging, then this one isn’t for you. But if you want bourbon to comfort you like a warm blanket in cold weather, then give this a try”.

To read Hansell’s full review go to www.whatdoesjohnknow.com