Day 3 - Willet Family Estate Bottled 4 Year Rye
- Paul Mora
- Dec 15, 2020
- 1 min read
As I educated myself in the world of American whiskies, somewhere along the line I was introduced to rye by way of a Manhattan.
Such a peppery flavor with strong floral notes. The genie was out of the bottle, so to speak, in my mixed cocktail world.
This 4-year Willet is bottled at 112.8 proof and is 95% rye grain. Quite spicy.
The nose is honey, toffee, and cherry preserves. I also get a slight rye dough scent under the ethanol.
The palate is peppery (rye, duh), dark cherries, dark chocolate, and caramelized vanilla with an oak, tart cherry, and peppery finish. Wonderful at 4 years.
Whoa! Super strong vapor, I could barely pick up much in the nose other than something herbal and of course caramel. Undiluted tasting, intense sweetness and rye. Once watered, the sweetness mellowed enough I could taste pepper and roasted grains. For me this seemed a classic eye bourbon. I think I had this one at Kurt and KJs one New Year’s Day back at their old place.
I love the peppery palate, dark cherries and chocolate.
The first thing I noticed about this whisky, after I poured, was its color. There was a distinctly earthy color to it, rather than the brassy hue of the previous two. This earthy quality held throughout. On the nose I found cinnamon, cloves, the earthiness and some cherry. I've not imbibed much rye, so I wasn't sure if I what I was experiencing was mostly due to this type of grain. I feel it is put together well. There was a uniformity on the tongue or palette, I appreciated. Toffee was present. There was earthiness in "texture" or "mouth-feel" for lack of better terms. This aspect reminded me of an older Cabernet from WA I tasted once. …
Every year, right about this time, about 400 drag racers, hotrodders, car builders, fabricators and tin-benders descend on the Spanish Cultural Center on Alemany in San Francisco. Andy "The Rodfather" Brizio puts on his annual lunch on a Wednesday and I haven't missed one in a decade. Take the whole day off, thank God. And that comes from sorry, sorry experience.
We start out around 10am, drinking Manhattans, six deep at both bars and plow through 36 feet of U.S. Foods' best olive-laced focaccia before going for Rounds 2 through 6. By Noon, we've emptied the southern half of the city of every handle of half-cheap whiskey and rye available. Stock in Jim Beam Brands spikes the ticker for about…
As noted last night, tonight is a two bourbon, side by side comparison for nights two and three. We decided to combine tonight's tasting with a celebration of the final Electoral College victory for Joe Biden.
I noted in previous comments that wives are apparently permitted to nose the samples. Sigrid thought the caramel and vanilla in the Bulliet was pleasant but the Willet rye hit her like a two by four.
Trying them side by side neat I found the Bullet rough and Willet interesting. after an eye dropper of water in each I was appreciating the complexity of the Bullet and beginning to wonder about the Willett. For the final sample I was savoring the Bulleit, piling ice…