Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye 7 Year

To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has an R1 on it. On the first nosing, this is an apricot rye alcohol blast that caused sinus damage and needed a few drops of water in it to calm it down. I then let it sit for 15 minutes to calm that Mike Tyson alcohol punch down while I my sinuses had time to recover and then approached with caution to find that the water tamed this beast to be able to identify some flavors instead of an alcohol uppercut, but found that the new challenge is the hodgepodge of eclectic flavors. I apologize in advance if this is me having some sort of brain aneurysm but I’ll just write these notes down and hope this makes sense when I find out what this is. The nose starts with dehydrated apricots or peaches then possible rum notes of canned pineapple and bananas foster followed by red vines along with an earthy note that transitions to a mix of spearmint, evergreen pine needles, star anise and fresh bandages with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting a rye blast up front followed with dehydrated apricots then rum notes of canned pineapple and bananas foster followed by a medium rye spice that fades to a mix of spearmint, evergreen pine needles, star anise and fresh bandages with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with apricot, maraschino cherries, Dr. Pepper, almond liqueur, pumpernickel bread, spearmint, and fresh bandages. Ok wow, what a flavor ride that must be a rye that’s been finished in rum casks and bottled at high cask strength. It’s a bit of a wild, unbalanced ride that has a mix of rye, tropical fruits, citrus and red berries that brings in earthy rye notes throughout the taste with a long finish of sweet fruits and rye spices. At first the flavor ride and proof were overwhelming but with time this grew on me to be very enjoyable with those strange combinations of flavors and a long enjoyable finish. If you’re looking for a weird combination of flavors and are a bit of a high proof nut, this might be a great rye for you. So what is this funky weird rye…… Willett 7 year Single Barrel Rye “Lion’s Share” 2019 bottled at 59.5%. Well hot damn, it’s not a finished rye after all and it turns out to be a freaking unicorn bottle on top of that. A huge thank you again to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for the sample because I don’t think I’ll ever find one of these in the wild for a price I’d be willing to pay.

Lions share 2020

Single barrel No. 630 122.4 proof

Again, part of a flight of four this evening consisting of this as well as pot still and family estate 12 and 13y. The rye roll backbone of pot still is there on the nose and to a lesser extent on the palate where more heat, char, spearmint show up. Back to the nose - a bit of cola, mint, anise, and maybe cloves? The herbal elements of the 4y are there but take a back seat to the cola and a bit of charred wood. Back to the palate and this is really quite different from the 4y. The barrel comes through more so than the herbal/earth notes. There’s noticeable burnt brown sugar, double mint gum and powdered sugar sweetness that aren’t amplified to the same degree as the 4y. Honestly, between this 7y and the 4y I don’t have a clear favorite. I love the 4y because it’s so different from most rye that I’ve had whereas the extra age of the 7y makes it more “familiar” with the added barrel influence. If I ever find a 7y under $250 I’ll be bringing it home but feel like the 4y remains as solid and satisfying as ever.