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Willett 2yr Rye


Old Dusty
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Got some for $40 in Boston today. A lot better than the $50 i first saw it for. That same store has marked up their remaining 5 year to $100!!! Hahaha

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Passed on a half-dozen or more bottles at $33 at a couple locations (if any Georgia folks want to PM me, I'll share details).

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Today I purchased a bottle of this (108.4 proof). Now, I don't have much experience with Ryes. To be honest I purchased a bottle of Dolin sweet vermouth just in case so I could use this rye for Manhattans if I didn't like it straight.

I don't think I'll bother even opening the vermouth.

This is a great whiskey, imho. If at 2 years this rye is this good I cannot wait to see what Willett will have to release in a few years. I will be going back for another bottle tomorrow.

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  • 2 months later...

Tasted two bottles, one at 111.x and the other at 109.x, purchased together from the same store and opened at the same time. I was stunned at how different they were. The nose on the 111 was hair-burning hot and it drank like liquid red hots with way too much ethanol burn, though the last half of the finish finally revealed some tasty flavors; maple, tropical fruit, mint. I did not enjoy this bottle.

The 109 was the polar opposite, it was surprisingly mellow and drank more like an older bourbon with vanilla, raisin and oak. I really enjoyed this bottle.

This experience reinforces my lack of interest in Willett, not because I don't like (some of) the product, but because I won't purchase and open the number of bottles necessary to find the good ones.

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Making your own and being consistent with it is a whole lot different than buying a proven product from an experienced distiller and bottling it.

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Is there anything on their label that distinguishes their distilled products from their sourced products? I'd imagine down the line when their rye gets older, you won't be able to tell.

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Is there anything on their label that distinguishes their distilled products from their sourced products? I'd imagine down the line when their rye gets older, you won't be able to tell.

It says "Distilled, Aged, and Bottled by The Willett Distillery, Bardstown, KY" on the back label.

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I appreciate the fact that they are distinguishing between what is sourced vs distilled in house. I'm still sitting on a two year and four year, both unopened. Bought them to do a comparison I never got around to...

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I did a comparison of 2 yr vs 4 yr the other day. 2 yr came out ahead for me, but I'm down on LDI/MGP lately, just bored of it, so I'm sure that had an effect. In my opinion though, the Willett 4 yr is among the best MGP ryes out there.

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Was in the mood to try something new and the bar was out of my first choice Son Of Bourye, so I went out on a limb and tried this. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, a caramel bomb and a lot of the hebatious quality, but man for a 2 year I was blown away with how good and reasonably balanced it was. I think the price is a little high vs quality for me to want to keep a few around, but I don't think I'd hesitate to get one.

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The more of this I drink, the more I buy. It's not cheap, but not unreasonably expensive either. Certainly the quality is there to justify the price. Now on my second bottle with a third already bought.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had some last night. I love the 4 yr. The 2yr is also good in my book. Not as caramely as the 4yr and a bit earthier as well. Love the proof though, if you pay by the proof, this is worth the money IMHO.

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  • 1 month later...

I recently ended up with a bottle of.this Willett 2yr rye. Don't really care for it. First thing I thought of was Crown Royal, but a little better. I'll try it in a few different coctails, but I certainly don't care for it straight. The 4yr bottle I've had for a little over a year is a pleasure to sip on though.

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Does anyone have any information on when or if Willett might release more of this? Either another batch of the two year, or maybe a three year. I saw that Caskers had the 2 year "on sale" today for $50. It sold out pretty quickly, although at the price I wasn't disappointed. I liked the two year at $30 because it was unique. At $50, I'll buy two bottles of Rittenhouse and have ten bucks leftover.

Anyway, I liked the two year for what it was and would think about getting another bottle if it was released again this year. Even better would be if they released slightly older whiskey, assuming it's still relatively affordable.

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Does anyone have any information on when or if Willett might release more of this? Either another batch of the two year, or maybe a three year. I saw that Caskers had the 2 year "on sale" today for $50. It sold out pretty quickly, although at the price I wasn't disappointed. I liked the two year at $30 because it was unique. At $50, I'll buy two bottles of Rittenhouse and have ten bucks leftover.

Anyway, I liked the two year for what it was and would think about getting another bottle if it was released again this year. Even better would be if they released slightly older whiskey, assuming it's still relatively affordable.

I would expect that they would continue to release one or the other. There have been many batches of the 2-year, so it seems like a continuous release cycle for that.

The first batch of 2-year came out in June, so if they're putting out a 3-year-old I wouldn't expect it any sooner than that.

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  • 2 years later...

At my local total wine they had a bottle of 3 year on the front counter. They said they only got 2 bottles. I find it strange they are still releasing 3 year.

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28 minutes ago, Bbstout said:

At my local total wine they had a bottle of 3 year on the front counter. They said they only got 2 bottles. I find it strange they are still releasing 3 year.

Interesting, maybe they are holding barrels back for older statements and bottling some of the younger stuff in the mean time?

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1 minute ago, EarthQuake said:

Interesting, maybe they are holding barrels back for older statements and bottling some of the younger stuff in the mean time?

Or perhaps the bottles the op saw were not new releases but bottles that have been sitting in the distributor's warehouse because they are not selling.  [I happen to like the 3 yr].

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