Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye 7 Year

To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has an R1 on it. On the first nosing, this is an apricot rye alcohol blast that caused sinus damage and needed a few drops of water in it to calm it down. I then let it sit for 15 minutes to calm that Mike Tyson alcohol punch down while I my sinuses had time to recover and then approached with caution to find that the water tamed this beast to be able to identify some flavors instead of an alcohol uppercut, but found that the new challenge is the hodgepodge of eclectic flavors. I apologize in advance if this is me having some sort of brain aneurysm but I’ll just write these notes down and hope this makes sense when I find out what this is. The nose starts with dehydrated apricots or peaches then possible rum notes of canned pineapple and bananas foster followed by red vines along with an earthy note that transitions to a mix of spearmint, evergreen pine needles, star anise and fresh bandages with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting a rye blast up front followed with dehydrated apricots then rum notes of canned pineapple and bananas foster followed by a medium rye spice that fades to a mix of spearmint, evergreen pine needles, star anise and fresh bandages with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with apricot, maraschino cherries, Dr. Pepper, almond liqueur, pumpernickel bread, spearmint, and fresh bandages. Ok wow, what a flavor ride that must be a rye that’s been finished in rum casks and bottled at high cask strength. It’s a bit of a wild, unbalanced ride that has a mix of rye, tropical fruits, citrus and red berries that brings in earthy rye notes throughout the taste with a long finish of sweet fruits and rye spices. At first the flavor ride and proof were overwhelming but with time this grew on me to be very enjoyable with those strange combinations of flavors and a long enjoyable finish. If you’re looking for a weird combination of flavors and are a bit of a high proof nut, this might be a great rye for you. So what is this funky weird rye…… Willett 7 year Single Barrel Rye “Lion’s Share” 2019 bottled at 59.5%. Well hot damn, it’s not a finished rye after all and it turns out to be a freaking unicorn bottle on top of that. A huge thank you again to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for the sample because I don’t think I’ll ever find one of these in the wild for a price I’d be willing to pay.

Rating: 13/23 This is a blind tasting. I know it's a rye and that's it. N: This reminds me a lot of Noah's Mill with its sort of mushroomy smell bordering on medicinal. It's herbal with a big bitter vegetal side. The alcohol also burns my nose. P: Somewhat viscous with herbal character turning into big black licorice with a lot of clove that carries some oak with it. There's a huge burn throughout though, like what I get from Rabbit Hole Cavehill. There's also a creek water sweetness to this that in spice of the big licorice and other boldness belies youth. Not as much mushroom as I'd feared, but there definitely is some there. Combined with a small amount of cherry that borders on cough syrup mixed with a hint of green wood, this almost seems like it was aged briefly in cherry wood. A bit of nice maple syrup with a bit of malty character. Some lemon rind as well and maybe a dash of tangerine. F: Black licorice with a sweetness like the candy itself. My tongue feels a little raw like the burn actually stripped some of the flesh off of it. - Conclusion - I am not a fan of this. Between the burn and the mushroom weirdness, this isn't one I'll be buying a bottle of. It's too bad because there are some other rich flavors in here that I really like. That burn really reminds me of Rabbit Hole Cavehill, so I'll compare them. I like the sweet approachability of the Rabbit Hole (after getting past the burn), whereas I like the complexity better here. Since this is a rye, I can forgive that funk more easily than I could in Noah's Mill. This doesn't taste quite as youthful as the Rabbit Hole, which I think makes it the winner in my book. I almost gave this a 12, but it's getting a 13. It's a shame: there's a lot of potential here, but the harshness and mushroom really knock it down. I've been wanting to try an older Willett for some time, so thank you @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for generously sharing a sample of this!

Nose - baked cherry pie, spearmint, brandied grape, grass, toffee, tobacco, Hawaiian Punch, polished oak, anise, vanilla, raisin toast, clove, cornbread, leather, nutmeg, chocolate malt, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, baked apple, dark chocolate, brown sugar, spearmint, orange zest, leather, vanilla, raisin, burnt cookie, nutmeg, clove, tobacco, anise, black pepper, cherry, cardamom, dense oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with spearmint, rich bittersweet chocolate, and baking spice flavors. The seventh of nine blind tastings begins with decadent, roasty toasty aromas of various holiday fruit pies, yeasty raisin toast, warm dark chocolate, and minty rye spice. The palate is thick and chewy with brown sugar, burnt sugar cookies, Andes chocolate mints, and rich leather and tobacco. Wow, what a high quality whiskey! The aromas and flavors are deep, dark, and punchy. It’s definitely not young, but I don’t think it’s particularly mature either. The proof is dialed in perfectly, full of flavor and eminently sippable. This is great whiskey, and if not for a tiny hint of sourness, this would be outstanding whiskey. So what is this delicious spirit in my glass tonight? Willett 7 Year Family Estate Single Barrel Rye. A wonderful sipper that I’ll never own, but I’m extremely grateful that @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a sample of this heavyweight to review.

Again, part of a flight of four this evening consisting of this as well as pot still and family estate 12 and 13y. The rye roll backbone of pot still is there on the nose and to a lesser extent on the palate where more heat, char, spearmint show up. Back to the nose - a bit of cola, mint, anise, and maybe cloves? The herbal elements of the 4y are there but take a back seat to the cola and a bit of charred wood. Back to the palate and this is really quite different from the 4y. The barrel comes through more so than the herbal/earth notes. There’s noticeable burnt brown sugar, double mint gum and powdered sugar sweetness that aren’t amplified to the same degree as the 4y. Honestly, between this 7y and the 4y I don’t have a clear favorite. I love the 4y because it’s so different from most rye that I’ve had whereas the extra age of the 7y makes it more “familiar” with the added barrel influence. If I ever find a 7y under $250 I’ll be bringing it home but feel like the 4y remains as solid and satisfying as ever.

Nose: rye and soft barrel spice. Vanilla and faint milk chocolate. This is not an overpowering etoh forward nose. Sweetness, honeyed. Malt. Little leather. Woody and earthy later. Body: medium Palate: interesting, unique, complex and seemingly a lot going on on the first sip. Rye, chocolate, bready maltiness, cinnamon, water chestnut (?) or light nuttiness. Black licorice really started to dominate late in the dram. Finish: medium Note: a great pick up from 1010. Very hard to get any willet rye other than the 4 year. This barrel was picked by Rachel 😮 so I hope it’s good. This is barrel 2237, 58.3%, 7 yr. Yup this is good and interesting. Overall this was extremely easy to drink and has layers of flavor.

Barrel was “harvest hymn”, 2024, purchased in denver. This is the best rye ive had in my life. Seriously, ive blinded it with all sorts of other ryes and this always wins. Better than parkers rye, any sagamore, handy, pappys 13. This rye is just unbelievably rich and sweet with this pumpkin note, and has this incredible luscious nose. I also side by sided with an 11 year willett and the 7 was wayyyy better. I think 7 to 9 years is just that sweet spot for rye.