BourbonEnthusiast.com • Bourbon Reviews • Willett Rye 22 yr

Bourbon Reviews:

Bottling Name	Willett Rye 22 yr
Bottled By	Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. Bardstown,KY
Type	Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Alcohol content	136.7 Proof
Availability	US: Not Available Japan: Not Available Duty Free: Not Available Europe: Not Available
Age	22
Views (since 20080612)	16240
Bottling Info	22yo, Single Barrel, unfiltered, barrel proof Willett Rye 136.7 proof Barrel No. 618 Bottle No. 34 of 263 Distilled 4-10-1984 Warehouse G, Rick 53 Selected for Doug Phillips

Review from spun_cookie (BourbonEnthusiast Review ID 1320, Created:20081017190659, Updated:20081017191045)

Purchased at:	Greg Gilbert's
Proof Of this Bottle:	68
Nose:	Rye, spice, lavender, blue berry pie
Taste:	Rye, chocolate, leather and burn. Spice cinnamon
Finish:	Finishes like a freight train... with Peppermint, white pepper
Overall:	Fun stuff. I see why this is Greg's favorite

Review from bourbonv (BourbonEnthusiast Review ID 785, Created:20070601134415)

Purchased at:	Gift from JD Knaebel (Thanks JD)
Info on this bottle:	bottle No. 125 o f 216 Bottling 2 for Dougdog
Proof Of this Bottle:	136.7
Nose:	Ripe fruit - cherries and dates, with some caramel, tobacco and floral notes. A soft nose that does not overpower, but is filled with complex flavors.
Taste:	Taken neat it has a powerfull alcohol burn that settles into some sweet fruit candied in vanilla and toffee. A drop or three of water improves this rye by toning down the alcohol and letting the flavors come through. Those flavors are ripe apricot with vanilla and caramel with a touch of cinnamon spice and oak.
Finish:	The finish is long lasting that starts very sweet but becomes more tannic as it goes on, but not a dry mouth type of tannins.
Overall:	Another very good bottle of old rye. I think between the first bottling and the second, I would give a slight edge to the first. Both are excellent rye whiskeys that would go great with a dessert after a meal or a nice cigar or pipe full of tobacco under a shade tree.

Review from MikeK (BourbonEnthusiast Review ID 666, Created:20061204142107, Updated:20080118164702) View discussion on this review.

Purchased at:	Shared from an original investor
Nose:	Powerful nose, warm and sweet. Heavy alcohol and oak. Rich with rye spiciness and soft raisins.
Taste:	Huge sweet richness at first, shifting to oaky dryness and tannins. Heavy alcohol burn.
Finish:	Medium to long finish, dry and oaky.
Overall:	A great bottling, thanks to Doug for putting it together. The presentation gets full points, the label is just beautiful and the unique white wax top is perfect. This is a very unique pour and well worth seeking out. However, I caution the timid. I have read many reviews that claim it does not taste 22 years old and barrel proof. They all lie, yes it does. While sipping a pina colada makes you think of tropical beaches and cool breezes, this rye evokes Laurence of Arabia, in a sandstorm, on an ill tempered camel. Again, this is a fascinating bottling, rich and powerful, but one should know what they are getting into. You may not care whether I taste dark cherry, but here is what you need to know. If Pappy 20/23 and BMH-18 are among your favorite pours, then this will blow your socks off. If they are too old/woody for your palate, then you probably don't want to spring for a bottle, but I still recommend you take any opportunity to try it as an important assignment towards your Masters in Bourbonology.

Review from TNbourbon (BourbonEnthusiast Review ID 647, Created:20061117143304)

Purchased at:	Trade with original barrel investor
Purchased for:	'06 William Larue Weller
Info on this bottle:	Bottle No. 182 of 263
Nose:	A puff of oak followed by vanilla and leather, evolving into grain-bin rye. I like the oak lead-in which quickly transforms, promising something besides 22 years' worth of barrel. Some aeration and minutes uncover caramel, then the flower garden. Merry-go-rounds back to the rye grain. Wow! Lots to cover.
Taste:	Initial heat, then orange, leather, tobacco in quick progression, mulled in steaming water (well, still pretty hot anyway); The leather and orange peel hang on. In fact, just a little bit orange muscat-y, if you've ever had the dessert wine -- not too much, but hinting. Pretty persistent, but subtle, rye graininess stays in the background all the way across the palate.
Finish:	Like the rest of the movement, the coda offers multiple sensations: fresh oak, orange, blueberries. Clean, no brooding over this one.
Overall:	Never a dull moment. Don't know that I've had as complex an American whiskey. While not every flavor element is a favorite, none predominates or lingers, and there's plenty of other 'goodies' to please. A first-rate whiskey experience.

Review from bourbonv (BourbonEnthusiast Review ID 634, Created:20061107165938)

Purchased at:	Gift from JD Knaebel (Thanks JD)
Info on this bottle:	As above
Nose:	Rich caramel, sweet molasses, and floral tones - honey suckel blossoms, with some sweet spice such as cloves and liquorice. Very nice but very complex.
Taste:	Alittle alcohol burn but not as much as you would expect from such a high proof. Very sweet with caramel and molasses with some wood tannins - again not as much as you would expect for 22 years of age, and the spice leading into the finish.
Finish:	Very posative finish. Lots of wood without the nasty dry tannins. There is also a spicey sweetness that last a long time. Some nice ripe fruit comes through in the finish as well - very ripe apricots with some deep dark blackberry.
Overall:	This is an excellent product with lots of interesting things going on at every step. This is a rye that I will enjoy every time I take a drink and probably in a different way. Great job of picking this barrel Doug and all.

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