Willett 2yr Rye

[Old Dusty]

Willett received TTB approval for the label on the first product of their own (current) distillation. A two year rye at cask strength. Can't wait to give this a try.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Old Dusty

[Ravensfire]

I wonder if this will be giftshop only. Glad to see some of their distillation out on the market. I'll be interested to see how it fares.

[mbroo5880i]

I am on board with it! I hope the price is reasonable.

[theglobalguy]

I wonder if this will be giftshop only. Glad to see some of their distillation out on the market. I'll be interested to see how it fares.

I wish I could remember how many barrels a day they said they fill. I was there the week after they filled the first warehouse, but it escapes me.

# of barrels x expected yield would give us a sense of supply. If it's tiny, then would guess GS only.

[MauiSon]

I'm not in the market for a 2yo rye, so let's hope the supply is small [to allow for a greater supply of older product, later].

[tmckenzie]

I am willing to bet there rye will be fine. And good rye ages fast. I have been drinking pikesville 3 year old recently, its a great drink for 9 bucks a fifth.

[GaryT]

I'm hoping it will be distributed. I was impressed with the JEP NAS rye which we assume to be 2yrs and a day. For me, rye still brings it at a young age, where I'm not as satisfied with bourbon that young. It may start out as a gift shop offering just to see how it does (although that will suck if the flippers stock up on it, as Willett has shown sensitivity to the secondary market - not that I blame them - but then the price will go up for distribution). The nice thing about a 2 yr product is that they can churn through it more quickly (and less loss to the angels) to support a wider distribution. It would be good to have some idea of how much rye they distill/barrel per week on average. I'm looking forward to picking one up!

[The Black Tot]

I'm with those who will wait for an older release, unless:

A) it gets surprisingly good reviews here

it is priced like a 2yr product, such that there is little to lose.

tbt

[squire]

I put more faith in reviews that are the result of blind tastings.

[tanstaafl2]

I'm with those who will wait for an older release, unless:

A) it gets surprisingly good reviews here

it is priced like a 2yr product, such that there is little to lose.

tbt

The first is possible I suppose. Won't hold my breath on the second but maybe I will be surprised.

One can hope...

[GaryT]

The first is possible I suppose. Won't hold my breath on the second but maybe I will be surprised.

One can hope...

No kidding - my fear is that they'll cut back the 4 yr and this will "replace it" at the same (or nearly the same) price point. But we can hope, right!

[Dolph Lundgren]

I had a chance to taste their rye off the still about a year and half ago when the distillery was first opened to the public. Some of the best unaged distillate I've tasted (along with High West). It's exciting to have a new distillate on the market, and hopefully, start easing market limitations. In 3 to 8 years this could be some real killer stuff. Hopefully they release it yearly so nerds like us can track it's growth.

[GaryT]

I reached out to a contact there, and asked if this would be a gift shop only, or would be available down in Atlanta. He advised that this rye was aged in Warehouse A (which I'm not familiar with their Warehouses, but thought I would include it here for folks who might be?), and it should be hitting Atlanta at some point this summer - so not a "gift shop only" offering. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for it!

[MyOldKyDram]

Any idea as to price? I'm guessing 50 bigguns.

[GaryT]

Any idea as to price? I'm guessing 50 bigguns.

OMG - I hope not. I'll ask for an expected price range. If it is $50 . . . I'll be less eager to run out and snag one. I know it is different since it is their distillate, but when the 4 yr is $40, and there are other 2 yr-ish in the $30 range, if they fall outside of that, I'll be disappointed.

[Old Dusty]

According to a twitter account belonging to a guy banned from this site-who seems to have an in with Willett, they will begin shipping this month on the rye. Take all of that with however many grains of salt you choose:cool:

[flahute]

According to a twitter account belonging to a guy banned from this site-who seems to have an in with Willett, they will begin shipping this month on the rye. Take all of that with however many grains of salt you choose:cool:

That same guy tweeted about the Maker's Mark Cask Strength a couple months back and though his timing was off, he does appear to have inside sources.

[callmeox]

According to a twitter account belonging to a guy banned from this site-who seems to have an in with Willett, they will begin shipping this month on the rye. Take all of that with however many grains of salt you choose:cool:

The official stance of Straightbourbon.com is that moderator and admin actions are not to be discussed in the open forums. While Jeff's post in the link below may not be recent, it is still the law of the land. If you have a question about how the site is run or any mod actions, reach out to someone via PM and we can discuss it there. We're a friendly bunch, honest.

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?9083-Banned

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

The quote above is often attributed to Mark Twain and it applies in spades in this instance. An untruth is circulating in the forums regarding the membership status of a blogger who has caught the attention of so many here.*

Now, nobody has tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hey Ox, I'm the guy who blogs as Bourbon Truth" but to the best of my knowledge, that person is currently a member in good standing on this site. If they choose not to post or acknowledge this fact, that's entirely up to them.

The lesson here is to be careful who you listen to and approach what they say with a sufficient level of skepticism. Some people just like to stir the pot regardless.

(*calling it a lie assumes intent and I don't know or care about the intent of the origination of the information)

Edited June 10, 2014 by callmeox

[GaryT]

Got an update on the price - per my source the shelf price should fall in the $30 to $35 range. Now that doesn't mean that is where the stores WILL price stuff, but in the past when I asked for price ranges on their offerings (ie - Johnny Drum Private Stock, WFE 4 yr rye), they were pretty darn close. Hopefully we'll see in the next month or two!

[nd2005]

Got an update on the price - per my source the shelf price should fall in the $30 to $35 range. Now that doesn't mean that is where the stores WILL price stuff, but in the past when I asked for price ranges on their offerings (ie - Johnny Drum Private Stock, WFE 4 yr rye), they were pretty darn close. Hopefully we'll see in the next month or two!

I'll gladly give it a try at 30-35. Was worried it would be 50+

[jburlowski]

Put me in the category of "I wish they would have waited..."

[mbroo5880i]

I'll gladly give it a try at 30-35. Was worried it would be 50+

While I was hoping for something a little less expensive, I can understand the pricing in today's market. It would be great to try this distillate at different age intervals to see how it changes.

[GaryT]

While I was hoping for something a little less expensive, I can understand the pricing in today's market. It would be great to try this distillate at different age intervals to see how it changes.

I agree - I plan on making an "archive sample" when I pick one up. I don't know if they'll offer a 3 yr next yr, or wait until the 4 yr mark. At a tasting last year, they brought in a 3 yr and 4 yr so we could see what a year does (these were LDI ryes though), and while you could see a difference, I was stunned by how much I liked the 3 yr.

[MyOldKyDram]

Still spendy for 2 yr stuff, but if it's priced around the LDI rye I'll give it a go.

[Kpiz]

Drew Kulsveen posted a picture of the rye this morning on Twitter and Instagram. I responded and asked how much the retail price will be, and he said $35. All things considered, I think that's a fair price, and it was nice of him to respond with that info.