Willett - A Rye Whiskey Produced By...?

by Forrest Foster

  One of the tough decisions I’ve faced in assembling the liquors at Altura is selecting the “well” spirits we have available. Because of our limited space, I select only one spirit to represent each neccesary category. Thankfully, there was a very clear choice for one area - rye whiskey.

 I’ve loved Willett rye since I first laid eyes upon the bottle. The care that went into designing the package is clear - it’s a beautiful, noble label. The whiskey itself is an excellent expression of a high proof (110) middle aged rye - the smoky oak on the five year neatly frames earthy/herbal aromas, and gives way on the palate to spicy black pepper and menthol. The four year is more immediately mentholated and spicy, with the oak taking more of a back seat, which I consider to be a very classic rye character. 

Unfortunately, it is a highly allocated product and as such I’ve only just recently gotten my hands on a second case of their four year product. I should have it available for the foreseeable future.

Sourcing

 What is not obvious with this whiskey and some other bourbon/ryes is that Willett is not the name of the distillery who produced the base spirit. Unlike in, say, Scotland, where the name of the whiskey is also the name of the very distillery, America does not have such tight regulations - names are more branding than anything else.
 
 The Willett Family Distillery is a defunct distillery whose label was purchased by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, henceforth known as KBD. KBD currently purchases all of their whiskey from other distilleries in Kentucky; the information regarding the exact source for the Willett Rye is not available. They may age or blend their whiskies, but they most certainly do not distill them. This may change in the future; KBD has a functional distillery as of 2012.

Regardless of its source, this is a consistently excellent whiskey. I prefer it either neat with a drop or two of water or in a classic rye manhattan, with a heavy dose of angostura bitters.

P.S.
 When this type of bottling and barreling occurs in Scotland, it is formally called “independent bottling,” which I will address in a future scotch centered article.