Willett 4 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Details

• Appearance: Sexy. In the bottle and in the glass. Refined, upscale sexy.
• Nose: Huge vanilla. Nougat, chocolate, and deep crisp dark rye. Then the spices: anise, clove, cinnamon stick, pepper. Finally – a little whiff of… Bazooka Joe bubble gum? Something like that, very sweet, sugary candy.
• Body: So clean and delicious. The sweetness comes back with a little bit of caramel popcorn. The rye grains are so compact and punchy, it’s a great balance of sweet vanilla candy and crisp dry grain. There’s also a hint of that oiled leather, old wood taste that you get from much older whiskies floating in there.
• Finish: A very long and lovely finish for a rye. There’s a hint of char/smoke, some welcome spirit warmth, and more of the rich vanilla. Early in the bottle we preferred a few drops of water, once it had a few weeks to open up, we preferred it straight (this is common with Willetts, open the bottle as soon as you get it and let it sit for a couple of weeks, you’ll be delighted).