Willett 21 question

[Enoch]

Found a store that has nearly a case of Willitt 21 year in the back. The owner is not in any hurry to sell it but said I could have several bottles for $130/bottle. What is this like and is it worth the price. I have never seen it in SC but this guy just merged his store with another.

[Trey Manthey]

If you can lay you eyes on the front and back labels we be might be able tell you more. I'd be interested mostly in what the back labels say (who did the barrel selection), as well as the barrel # and ABV on the front. Even the # of bottles and wax color can be clues.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

If you can lay you eyes on the front and back labels we be might be able tell you more. I'd be interested mostly in what the back labels say (who did the barrel selection), as well as the barrel # and ABV on the front. Even the # of bottles and wax color can be clues.

wax color means nothing. They let you choose from 8 or 9 colors. It might have meant something at some point but not now.

I also believe all "specially chosen by" tags on willett bottles were added by retailers or distributors. Again, i am not sure if this was always true. We were not given the option of a customized message or "chosen by" tag on our forthcoming selections.

[MyOldKyDram]

Unless you know the people that picked it Willett is always kind of a roll of the dice.

[Old Dusty]

Unless you know the people that picked it Willett is always kind of a roll of the dice.

Willett=a box of chocolates after you've lost the diagram. It will probably be good, may even be great, but you could get the orange creme sh*t.

Edited June 30, 2013 by Old Dusty

[luther.r]

Still, Willett 21 at that price is half of what I usually see it sell for these days. I'd try one and see how it is.

[Trey Manthey]

wax color means nothing.

Only as a clue for figuring out which selection it came from, not any indicator of the nature of the contents. AFAIK, the wax color is consistent among bottles from the same selection.

[HP12]

Unless you know the people that picked it Willett is always kind of a roll of the dice.

Still, Willett 21 at that price is half of what I usually see it sell for these days. I'd try one and see how it is.

Yep, it's a crap shoot at a good price for the 21yo which usually pushes $200. I'd buy one and try it for yourself. As suggested above, unless you know the barrel picker and your palate is aligned with same, one needs to find out for themselves if "the shoe fits".

[WAINWRIGHT]

If it is a recent bottling my guess is it would be an ultra-aged ryed bourbon,I have had the opportunity to try several selections over the last year and passed on ever single one.I would also add the $130 is a great price as they are generally in the $170-200 range,so if you are a gambling man.....but to my tastes I found it to be nothing more than a tired old overly wooded bourbon.Just my two cents,YMMV.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Only as a clue for figuring out which selection it came from, not any indicator of the nature of the contents. AFAIK, the wax color is consistent among bottles from the same selection.

true. Ive seen 21 year at a bunch of different places. With the lack of transparency with Willett, its tough to gauge how many 20 years and older barrels Willett has put out.

[savagehenry]

Willett=a box of chocolates after you've lost the diagram. It will probably be good, may even be great, but you could get the orange creme sh*t.

I'm nominating that for comment of the year. I almost ASNR'ed VOB BIB out of my nose.

[ChainWhip]

Mmm... Orange creme sh*t...

[HP12]

Mmm... Orange creme sh*t...

Agree. The orange creme ain't the dog in the box, it's those jellied pieces O crap!

As suggested earlier, $130 is a good price for a 21yo. My question might be, do you see Willett's in SC on a regular basis? If not, then maybe this is a case that nobody else wanted and it ended up in unsuspecting SC? Just a conspiracy theory to throw into the mix.

[squire]

I have this image of the old Willetts slowly making their way to their ancestral burial grounds in SC.

[sailor22]

I have tasted a couple of 21's that were unimpressive, however the local retailer has a barrel selection of Willett 22 that is crazy good juice. It was 21 when selected but had a birthday just before it was bottled. So in your case, unless you can get a sample its a roll of the dice. Maybe split the cost of the first bottle with a friend or two to soften the blow if it sucks. Good luck.

[LostBottle]

Willett=a box of chocolates after you've lost the diagram. It will probably be good, may even be great, but you could get the orange creme sh*t.

Ha! In addition to accuracy, this also gets point for awesomeness. I second savagehenry's nomination.

Edited July 1, 2013 by LostBottle

[BFerguson]

clearly, you need to buy one and decide.

At worst, you'll kick yourself, but the pain will be over quick.

At best, you'll be grinning from ear to ear as you buy the rest of the case.

The only Willett 21 that I have had was one of the recent Binny's picks, and it is stellar. Kicking myself for not getting two. :hot:

B

[Dolph Lundgren]

clearly, you need to buy one and decide.

At worst, you'll kick yourself, but the pain will be over quick.

At best, you'll be grinning from ear to ear as you buy the rest of the case.

The only Willett 21 that I have had was one of the recent Binny's picks, and it is stellar. Kicking myself for not getting two. :hot:

B

I second that. Binny's had three different 21 barrels. 1 was allegedly killer, 1 was good, and the last one was meh (of course, this was the one my buddy bought). At a buck thirty, pull the trigger on one. Its high risk, but potential reward is high, too. Live dangerously, and you never know - it could be a wheater!

[jburlowski]

Willetts are like blind dates: some have a happy ending... others (at best) have a "nice personality". My advice is not to buy any without a) trying it yourself; or have a trusted palate's recommendation. This is especially true of the uber-aged expressions.

And remember: most are single-barrel offerings ----- one 21 yo may have no correlation with another.

[HP12]

Willetts are like blind dates: some have a happy ending... others (at best) have a "nice personality". My advice is not to buy any without a) trying it yourself; or have a trusted palate's recommendation. This is especially true of the uber-aged expressions.

And remember: most are single-barrel offerings ----- one 21 yo may have no correlation with another.

Sound advise from a fellow whiskey enthusiast who's palate I trust. Turned me on to TPS AAA PB and never questioned it from there. :grin:

[HP12]

Found a store that has nearly a case of Willitt 21 year in the back. The owner is not in any hurry to sell it but said I could have several bottles for $130/bottle. What is this like and is it worth the price. I have never seen it in SC but this guy just merged his store with another.

Well, what has been the decision? What's the barrel number?

[Vwown3d]

Found a bottle of this at a local store while picking up some Pig111. $130. Looks to be barre l#37. Should I add it to the collection?

[squire]

I wouldn't but I don't buy mystery whisky. If you like WhistlePig then I would suggest other Canadians such as Masterson's, Pendleton or Wiser's Pot Still Rye.

[luther.r]

Found a bottle of this at a local store while picking up some Pig111. $130. Looks to be barre l#37. Should I add it to the collection?

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[compliance]

I'd put back the Whistle Pig for it