The Willett Bar

[Kyjd75]

Wife and I visited Willett today to eat lunch at the Willett Bar.  Our first time there.  We enjoyed it very much and were impressed by what they had to offer.  Upstairs over the gift shop, with a large bar and exposed kitchen, you had a great view of both wherever you sat.  We had a terrific server who answered all of our questions and provided great service.  The food was really good, and the bourbon was outstanding.  The wife had some mixed drinks and one beer, while I had several pours from a bottle of WFE (15 yrs old) compliments of my loving spouse.  It was good, believe me.  They have an extensive selection of WFE pours, as well as current offerings and other brand older selections.  All in all, I thought it was nicely done and I am sure we will be back in the near future.

 

 

[clearmoon247]

Do you know how much the pour of 15 year was?

[Kyjd75]

10 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

Do you know how much the pour of 15 year was?

Oh yes.  Not cheap.  The bottle I had was $50/ounce.  They had less expensive bottles, of course, as well as some in the 20+ year range that were as high as $500/ounce (Willett Black Velvet rye, 23 years old).  We were told someone was in last week who dropped $1000+ trying various bottles of WFE.

[AndyD]

I went there back in October and I was really hoping the pours were more reasonable.  It was a letdown for me.

[Kyjd75]

1 hour ago, AndyD said:

I went there back in October and I was really hoping the pours were more reasonable.  It was a letdown for me.

One thing I learned a long time ago is that the era of Willett WFE at a "reasonable cost" passed years ago.  I used to buy cases of WFE.  Now, there is none to be had.  Obviously not going to regularly drop $50/ounce on WFE there, but fun to do every once in awhile.

[BottledInBond]

I like visiting Willett, especially because it is so small/quaint/scenic compared to some other distilleries. I al so think it’s cool that they have this option now with a good selection of older WFE pours, even if it seems overpriced. At least it’s an option if you want to splurge.

 

My biggest complaint though is that they rarely seem to have Andy WFE bottles available in the gift shop anymore. The last 3 times I went there, zero WFE to buy. You’d think they could at least commit to keeping like the 4 year rye or some 5 year bourbon WFE in stock at the gift shop. It’s super annoying when I can buy a WFE bottle at my local store out of state, but not when I go to the distillery. People (rightly so to a degree) tend to complain that LE bottles are often more expensive when you buy them at the HH Heritage Center versus at home, but at least it’s an option, and you can also usually get some stuff their that you can’t get at home (HHSS, WHH, EC grenades etc.) which is a reasonable trade off I think

[Kyjd75]

I know your pain about the lack of WFE for sale at the gift shop.  They did have a bunch of 4 yr. rye available when we were there yesterday.  No WFE bourbon.  Hopefully more WFE bourbon will start appearing as their stocks of their own juice continues to mature.  However I am concerned as to what the price will be for a bottle of say, a 7 yr. WFE bourbon.  May be more than what a lot of us can afford to pay.

[DeepCover]

2 hours ago, Kyjd75 said:

I know your pain about the lack of WFE for sale at the gift shop.  They did have a bunch of 4 yr. rye available when we were there yesterday.  No WFE bourbon.  Hopefully more WFE bourbon will start appearing as their stocks of their own juice continues to mature.  However I am concerned as to what the price will be for a bottle of say, a 7 yr. WFE bourbon.  May be more than what a lot of us can afford to pay.

That was my experience back in October. We had a pour of the 6 year bourbon that I really liked. I shudder to think what the price would be in the gift shop.

 

[flahute]

6 hours ago, AndyD said:

I went there back in October and I was really hoping the pours were more reasonable.  It was a letdown for me.

Here's the thing. If the prices were reasonable, they would be sold out in a heartbeat and people would be complaining about their lack of aged bottles. You can't have it both ways in the current bourbon environment.

[Richnimrod]

3 hours ago, flahute said:

Here's the thing. If the prices were reasonable, they would be sold out in a heartbeat and people would be complaining about their lack of aged bottles. You can't have it both ways in the current bourbon environment.

...And, a goodly number of those quickly 'sold out' bottles would appear on the secondary market within a very brief time at a substantial mark-up... and pretty quickly get sold for that marked up price.   

...Followed by the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth hereabouts.

[AndyD]

6 hours ago, flahute said:

Here's the thing. If the prices were reasonable, they would be sold out in a heartbeat and people would be complaining about their lack of aged bottles. You can't have it both ways in the current bourbon environment.

Totally agree and this is a rational response.  I imagined my bourbon trail trip being much different, but it was very similar to how it is up in MN in terms of demand and price.  

[Kyjd75]

Oh, I don't disagree with any of these comments.  As irrational as the bourbon market has been in general, the market for WFE is even worse.  The sight of a bottle of WFE on the primary or secondary market evokes an immediate bidding hysteria  that is without rationale.  Nonetheless, a visit to the Bar at Willett is a worthwhile trip.

[mal00768]

Isn’t a lot of this just old forester barrels? If so it seems like BF missed a big opportunity. Or the bourbon is mediocre and it’s all just hype.

[AndyD]

1 hour ago, Kyjd75 said:

Oh, I don't disagree with any of these comments.  As irrational as the bourbon market has been in general, the market for WFE is even worse.  The sight of a bottle of WFE on the primary or secondary market evokes an immediate bidding hysteria  that is without rationale.  Nonetheless, a visit to the Bar at Willett is a worthwhile trip.

Willet has an extremely nice property and a fantastic lounge, that is for sure.  Their wall of bourbon is insane.

[flahute]

1 hour ago, mal00768 said:

Isn’t a lot of this just old forester barrels? If so it seems like BF missed a big opportunity. Or the bourbon is mediocre and it’s all just hype.

1) Some of it it OF, but they have barrels from just about everyone.

2) BF has been missing opportunities to do great things with extra aged barrel proof barrels (that don't get aged in their heat cycled warehouses) for a very long time now.

3) Not all of it is great but a lot of it sure is. Is it overhyped? Absolutely. I think most of it is great but I won't spend $700 on a 15yr bottle (which is a price I just saw in CA).

[mbroo5880i]

14 hours ago, Kyjd75 said:

One thing I learned a long time ago is that the era of Willett WFE at a "reasonable cost" passed years ago.  I used to buy cases of WFE.  Now, there is none to be had.  Obviously not going to regularly drop $50/ounce on WFE there, but fun to do every once in awhile.

I think this is great.  You had the opportunity on a special occasion to enjoy some really great pours.  You have experienced both sides of the equation...plentiful WFE and limited WFE.  

 

I have had many bottles over the years and still have a few left.  Some were quite stellar.

[smokinjoe]

14 hours ago, BottledInBond said:

I like visiting Willett, especially because it is so small/quaint/scenic compared to some other distilleries. I al so think it’s cool that they have this option now with a good selection of older WFE pours, even if it seems overpriced. At least it’s an option if you want to splurge.

 

My biggest complaint though is that they rarely seem to have Andy WFE bottles available in the gift shop anymore. The last 3 times I went there, zero WFE to buy. You’d think they could at least commit to keeping like the 4 year rye or some 5 year bourbon WFE in stock at the gift shop. It’s super annoying when I can buy a WFE bottle at my local store out of state, but not when I go to the distillery. People (rightly so to a degree) tend to complain that LE bottles are often more expensive when you buy them at the HH Heritage Center versus at home, but at least it’s an option, and you can also usually get some stuff their that you can’t get at home (HHSS, WHH, EC grenades etc.) which is a reasonable trade off I think

The difference in those availabilities between HH and Willet, is that HH spills on the ground during bottling in a year as Willett actually bottles over the same time.

[The Black Tot]

Yup. Willett fills 50 barrels a day.

 

At that rate they're never going to catch up.

 

And I'm the guy who says we're going to be swimming in bourbon in a few years based on everyone else's wild expansions.

 

I've said it before, but Willett decided to change their focus to being a hospitality center. They're building hotel rooms, gazebos and restaurants instead of adding capacity.

 

Given their clear talents at making/selecting and ageing whiskey, it's a real shame that their efforts don't look like they're going to get centered on making more of it. There are enough hotels in the world.

[The Black Tot]

20 hours ago, flahute said:

Here's the thing. If the prices were reasonable, they would be sold out in a heartbeat and people would be complaining about their lack of aged bottles.

At least they could be sure that people drank the stuff.

 

That would be the end of the flipping, right there.

[flahute]

4 hours ago, The Black Tot said:

At least they could be sure that people drank the stuff.

 

That would be the end of the flipping, right there.

I'm talking about, and I believe the person I was responding to was talking about, the price of pours at the bar.

[The Black Tot]

Just now, flahute said:

I'm talking about, and I believe the person I was responding to was talking about, the price of pours at the bar.

So am I.

 

If they sold the old WFEs at an equivalent per-pour price at the bar instead of out of the shop, the bar prices would be lower, and there would be no flipping. It would all get sold, and consumed.

[flahute]

13 hours ago, The Black Tot said:

Yup. Willett fills 50 barrels a day.

 

At that rate they're never going to catch up.

 

And I'm the guy who says we're going to be swimming in bourbon in a few years based on everyone else's wild expansions.

 

I've said it before, but Willett decided to change their focus to being a hospitality center. They're building hotel rooms, gazebos and restaurants instead of adding capacity.

 

Given their clear talents at making/selecting and ageing whiskey, it's a real shame that their efforts don't look like they're going to get centered on making more of it. There are enough hotels in the world.

Remember that Willett refuses to take on debt for expansion. Revenue streams from hospitality will go towards future expansion.

4 minutes ago, The Black Tot said:

So am I.

 

If they sold the old WFEs at an equivalent per-pour price at the bar instead of out of the shop, the bar prices would be lower, and there would be no flipping. It would all get sold, and consumed.

Gotcha! Yep - most of the aged sourced stuff is going to the bar I think.

[The Black Tot]

9 minutes ago, flahute said:

Remember that Willett refuses to take on debt for expansion. Revenue streams from hospitality will go towards future expansion.

 

I'm not asking them to take on debt. I'm asking them to invest their cash profits in expansion of what they're uniquely best at (their own mashbills). And I'm not really even asking them, because what do they care what I think? They're living their lives the way they wish.

 

Power to 'em, but I wish they were barrelling 10 times the amount of whiskey that they're doing. We don't just need more whiskey, we need more GREAT whiskey, which Drew and the gang are in a position to really nail. And while they're bed and breakfasting, they're not focused on that. Too bad for us drinkers.

 

Whiskey fans can find a place to stay in Louisville, as well as a place to eat. What they can't find is a good bottle of 10yr+ WFE.

 

Edit: You don't see the Hilton talking to Vendome about getting some stills put in... Amiright?

Edited December 21, 2019 by The Black Tot

[Kyjd75]

Wonder if any of you know what the current capacity is of the distillery itself at Willett?  I seem to recall from what they told us when we did a private barrel selection a month or two ago that they were up to 75 barrels a day.  I wholeheartedly agree that Willett really does seem to know what they are doing in terms of making, selecting and aging bourbon.  And, like the rest of you, just wish they were making more of it.

[The Black Tot]

1 minute ago, Kyjd75 said:

Wonder if any of you know what the current capacity is of the distillery itself at Willett?  I seem to recall from what they told us when we did a private barrel selection a month or two ago that they were up to 75 barrels a day.  I wholeheartedly agree that Willett really does seem to know what they are doing in terms of making, selecting and aging bourbon.  And, like the rest of you, just wish they were making more of it.

Happy to hear even 75. 

 

It seems to fluctuate. 50 was an oft-quoted figure on many of my visits, and on my last one last November, they had stopped distilling 6 days a week. They seem to vary the intensity of production a lot.

 

Perhaps they push hard in the fall, since that traditionally was the best time of the year (along with spring) for ambient temperatures and fermentation.