Willett Pot Still - How come we never discuss it?

[Lazer]

I've found Drew, his dad & family to be nothing but honest, straight forward brokers of damn fine bourbon and rye.... "When you find a bottle of theirs that is great .. go buy as much as you can because the next batch may be different!" That's simply how it works and it doesn't mean that they slapped you in the face when one batch differs from another.
The fraud business is wrong ... it's just wrong.

I'm not saying that there needs to be an investigation by a federal agency or anything like that. I'm just saying in terms of the way they market their products they make you think that they have a distillery and they are making the bourbon in your bottle just like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. That is the way they are selling themselves. You said it yourself they are BROKERS not distillers. There's nothing wrong with that except for when you hide it from the customers. Why? because of your next point. If you find something good from them that's all there is to it, you can't expect it to be the same whiskey next time you go buy the same bottle with the same label. And yes, if Heaven Hill is inconsistent we know that this is just the laws of nature, like baking a cake it isn't going to be perfect every time, but with buying and selling bulk whiskey it is BY DESIGN inconsistent. Hence, the slap in the face.

I'm sure Drew and his family are nice people and like I said, I'm not calling for any type of prosecution or litigation, I just mean "dirty fraud" in an informal sense. Like everybody in politics is a dirty liar.

[White Dog]

I'm not saying that there needs to be an investigation by a federal agency or anything like that. I'm just saying in terms of the way they market their products they make you think that they have a distillery and they are making the bourbon in your bottle just like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. That is the way they are selling themselves. You said it yourself they are BROKERS not distillers. There's nothing wrong with that except for when you hide it from the customers. Why? because of your next point. If you find something good from them that's all there is to it, you can't expect it to be the same whiskey next time you go buy the same bottle with the same label. And yes, if Heaven Hill is inconsistent we know that this is just the laws of nature, like baking a cake it isn't going to be perfect every time, but with buying and selling bulk whiskey it is BY DESIGN inconsistent. Hence, the slap in the face.

I'm sure Drew and his family are nice people and like I said, I'm not calling for any type of prosecution or litigation, I just mean "dirty fraud" in an informal sense. Like everybody in politics is a dirty liar.

Are you aware that they went live again at the start of 2012, and that they are using a pot still? Obviously, this has nothing to do with what they've been bottling, nor with the bottlings we're discussing, but I do think it's awesome that an old Kentucky Distillery has actually went live, after so many having gone silent.

http://www.whiskyadvocateblog.com/20...whiskey-again/

[squire]

A modified pot/column still which I understand Drew used because they couldn't get a coupling to work going to the primary column still. Are they distilling on a regular basis now?

[White Dog]

I don't live there, but as far as I've read they're distilling on a regular basis. Can anyone confirm or deny based on real evidence?

[tmckenzie]

I was down there last April and they where running the column and pot. Nice folks and the white dog off the column was nice stuff, and some being doubled in the pot still, which is a true doubling was nice stuff as well. That should be good bourbon in a few years.

[VAGentleman]

I was there in October and they were distilling also. So sounds like they are doing it on a regular basis

[Dolph Lundgren]

I was down there last April and they where running the column and pot. Nice folks and the white dog off the column was nice stuff, and some being doubled in the pot still, which is a true doubling was nice stuff as well. That should be good bourbon in a few years.

I can second that. And the stuff coming off of the still was really good (for distillate). I was down there in November and they had been distilling for around a year, since the begining of 2012 and around the same time the "craft trail" came about. When I was there, they had a rye whiskey (around 74% rye, I think) fermenting in their 4 fermentation tanks. Overall, it was a very intimate and wonderful tour experience. Plus, the have some amazing stuff in their gift shop (the wife got me the 25 year old rye for my bday!).

As far as WPS, I think it is ok. I haven't purchased one but I've been gifted a few. On the flip side, I love the family reserve stuff and buy it whenever I see a bottle; its always a suprise and rarely bad. I think this (now) distillery is the farthest thing from a fraud, echoing what was previously said.

[squire]

You would know good stuff Tom, thanks for the comments.

[BradleyC]

I'm not saying that there needs to be an investigation by a federal agency or anything like that. I'm just saying in terms of the way they market their products they make you think that they have a distillery and they are making the bourbon in your bottle just like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam.

Have you ever heard of Old Rip Van Winkle distillery?????

[squire]

Sure have, located in downtown OZ, if I remember correctly.