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What rye did you purchase today? Spring/Summer 2014


BFerguson
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Gave in and snagged a 2 yr old Willett today. Will probably give it a SBS with the 4 yr in the near future. The price was too good to pass at 35 and I'm really surprised that I'm presently seeing it sort of hanging around on the shelves in different parts of the state.

I just hope they aren't jumping the boat and hold enough of this back to have a decent 4 yr release in a couple of years. :grin:

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Went across the river to check if a store had any more bottles from a pair of Willet WFE bourbon barrels (they didn't), but they did have some Willett 2 year rye so I took a bottle home. Since I was in the area, stopped by several smaller stores looking for anything interesting (especially beers) and found a place that had some Willett 5 year rye for $32 so grabbed that. Found some nice beers as well that I haven't seen on my side of the river in a while. Not a bad Sunday afternoon overall!

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I'm surprised to be reading about 5+ year Willett ryes still to be found out in the wild.

I think I missed the boat on most of these. By the time I realized I like rye, most of the old stock was sold out or $200+ in their gift shop.

Willett may still be the great rye hope for the future. Run those stills in the red, boys!

They've got a lot of rackhouse space at Willett, and they've sold a great deal in the last few years. Lest we forget there's Willett make BOURBON coming down the pipes.

I've got too many open bottles to test drive the 2 year. For my taste, I like their LDI ryes to settle down in the barrel for more than the 4yrs that I usually see on the shelves, anyway. I think life is going to get good when there's a steady stream of 7yr+ offerings.

I'll check it out at a whiskey bar, though, if I get the chance. I'm definitely interested, and cheering!

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Decided to change pace today and picked up a Saz rye. See if I like it as much as I liked RittBIB.

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Picked up a 1L WT101 Rye. It's only the second time I have seen it in NJ, so I figured I would give it a try.

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2 Bottles of WT101 Rye and one Willet 2 year old. The Willet says it was distilled by them, so I'm looking forward to checking this out!

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I wouldn't have too high an expectation, young rye is after all young rye and is not being offered because it's ready but because it's profitable.

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I wouldn't have too high an expectation, young rye is after all young rye and is not being offered because it's ready but because it's profitable.

Respectfully, I disagree. I love Willet 2 year. Young, yes, but very nice herbal notes come through. It does not have the spice you find in more mature ryes, but still very enjoyable. This will be one everyone is raving about in a few years. For $31.99, I've picked up quite a few bottles.

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I wouldn't have too high an expectation, young rye is after all young rye and is not being offered because it's ready but because it's profitable.

2yr rye Willett.

I have to agree. To me only, really can't drink it at all.

Bought some because my friend said its good and drink older than it is and a must have as well as the rave reviews here.

Just picked up and opened with a first pour.

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Agree with those who skipped the Willett 2yr.

This is going to be the most available rye ever from Willett - how could it not? - They're already in rolling production of it. Next years barrels are already filled.

I almost worry that the more 2yr that people buy, the more Willett will think "Why age 'em longer if they'll buy it at 2?"

I'm very excited about Willett's juice. But for me, not until it's 6 or 7yrs old. I'm sure even 4 will be great, but I've got plenty to drink until it's 6 or 7.

The only reason I could see doing this would be for a taste-off of the evolution of the bottles as this distillate goes from 2-3-4-5 and so on. But even then what's the point if they're from different barrels and rack house locations?

Oh well, what's important is people are enjoying drinking it. THAT I agree with completely.

And if this is what's paying the ad valorem taxes to get to 6 and 7, then it is what it is. Although gift shop sales of the older stuff seems to be netting them some tidy margins.

Edited by The Black Tot
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The only reason I could see doing this would be for a taste-off of the evolution of the bottles as this distillate goes from 2-3-4-5 and so on.

The reason why is that's what they have to sell. The older stuff in the gift shop was made by someone else.

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I had my first taste of the 2yr old Willett rye last night at the GBS meetup. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is youngish (duh), but ryes can show better than bourbons when young, and this one does exactly that, to me. Lots of young whiskies floating around, but this is one of a few that I feel can take it to the next level with some more time in the barrel. I am definitely looking forward to those releases. For now, I'll be eagerly seeking out my own first bottle of the 2yr, pronto.

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My point was next year there would be a Willett 3yr to compare to the 2yr, and the year after that a 4.

I know everything over 2 is LDI at present.

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The only reason I could see doing this would be for a taste-off of the evolution of the bottles as this distillate goes from 2-3-4-5 and so on. But even then what's the point if they're from different barrels and rack house locations?

This, for me, was the number 2 reason I bought it. The first was, frankly, comments from others that were complimentary for it being a 2 year rye. It's a good 2 year rye with tons of potential. I keep hearing the 100k + bottles of it and I just worry that Willett is going to end up hurting themselves in the long run. It IS only 2 years, and I know some people are getting this because it's the only Willett they can buy. And it's far more expensive that most similar ryes. I'd rather have seen a smaller release now, as a tease, then a larger release in two years with the 4 year rye and then continuing on.

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Didn't purchase today but recently got a TPS OS 8yo. OS and TPS do a fantastic job picking some nice whiskies.

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My point was next year there would be a Willett 3yr to compare to the 2yr, and the year after that a 4.

Ah, I see, no, didn't catch that as it hadn't occurred to me anyone would want them.

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I keep hearing the 100k + bottles of it and I just worry that Willett is going to end up hurting themselves in the long run.

I think they're rocking it. Willett themselves have shown that you can sell a 4yr premium rye briskly, so a boom only has to last another 2 years at least for them to make a ton with their present reserves.

In fact, it seems easier to sell a 4yr rye than it would be to sell a 4yr bourbon.

While I'm a vocal believer that the boom will bust, I think it's going to hang on long enough at least for Willett to do very well with a 7 year product.

I think most of us would be pretty keen to be sitting on 100K bottles of 2yr rye at this point in history... :) And good for them. I love everything about Willett except for the prices and availability of their higher aged things. And they're working as hard as they can on the availability. I'm in their corner, too.

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Just remember, the more 2yo they sell this year, the less 3yo they'll have next year and even less 4yo the next year and even less 5yo the next year and so on.

Sitting on 100K bottles of 2yo? What good is that, as it won't age any further in the bottle? :rolleyes:

Edited by MauiSon
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I think most of us would be pretty keen to be sitting on 100K bottles of 2yr rye at this point in history... :) And good for them. I love everything about Willett except for the prices and availability of their higher aged things. And they're working as hard as they can on the availability. I'm in their corner, too.
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Nothing fancy. Bulleit 95 and Dickel Rye which are very affordable, tasty and make a nice cocktail when mixed with Vernor's ginger ale. The perfect drink when it's blazing hot humid!

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My point was that I'd rather see the initial release lower at the young 2 year point so we'd see more at the higher aging levels. Enough to wet people's interest plus get the buzz going and in a couple of years have a solid release.

Arguably they already have a solid 4 year old release drawn from that well of rye up in Indiana.

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Arguably they already have a solid 4 year old release drawn from that well of rye up in Indiana.

True, but you can get that other places, even though I think there's something about what Willett does than generally produces a better product. I really look foward to pure Willett.

Hmmm, so with the amount that willett seems to be producing, have they stopped getting rye from up north? Can't remember seeing anything on that.

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True, but you can get that other places, even though I think there's something about what Willett does than generally produces a better product.

What they do is put it in a very attractive bottle.

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Sorry, I wasn't too clear - the 100k+ number is what I've seen that they are releasing as the 2 year rye. I'm sure they have more aging to allow similar numbers at the 4-6 year level, then significantly decreasing from there. My point was that I'd rather see the initial release lower at the young 2 year point so we'd see more at the higher aging levels. Enough to wet people's interest plus get the buzz going and in a couple of years have a solid release.

Aha. yeah, I was thinking that stock was in barrels. Wow that's a lot of bottles. Or maybe it isn't - I have no idea how much they're selling. It would really be cool to know about some sales figures sometime, just for fun.

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