Review #102 - Willett Pot Still Reserve
Ah yes, another fancy bottle bourbon. Many will love the decanter-style glass that this whisky comes in (though we find it too wide and awkwardly tall to fit well on a shelf full of whiskies), but we're more worried about the taste of the liquid inside.
Willett's Pot Still Reserve is now supposedly made in-house, but was rumored to be sourced distillate for quite some time before that. It was originally a single barrel product (would love to try one of those), but now comes as a batched whisky, bottled at 47% ABV. Nothing like cask strength, but it's nice to see it at an integrity presentation strength. Past the ABV, details are few - no age statement, no specific cask details, and not much else on the bottle past some typical marketing jargon in reflective gold lettering.
Willett Pot Still Reserve
USA - Bourbon
Price Paid: USD 50 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 52 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 47% ABV
Details: Tasted from multiple bottles, but our current bottle is from Batch 21C30
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 6 times over 18 months; bottles at 60%, 100%, 90% (blind tasting), 80%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Sweeter to start, somewhat subtle, but noticeable sappy oak and some dry vanilla pods. There is caramel and molasses sugar, some baking spices of clove and nutmeg and caramelized sugar, but a sort of nail polish/acetone creeps forward at the same time. It can be a little grainy and slightly earthy, but there is some cherry fruit to balance that. In individual tastings we found Coca-Cola and coppery metal; with time, the oak becomes a bit more bitter or sour.
Palate: Warming despite a medium-thin mouthfeel, quite oaky and both sweet and spicy. Vanilla, black pepper, cough syrup, spearmint, licorice, and brown sugar all come to mind; there's caramel and anise as well, not too fruit, but heavy in the oak and spice flavors. Oak continues to grow in intensity, and it becomes a bit more dry and tannic as the palate develops, bordering on over-oaked.
Finish: Medium length with pepper and nutmeg, some clove, plenty of those baking spices to go around. There's an interesting purple grape and caramel combination bringing a hint of sweetness, but this jumps back into tannic oak relatively quickly. Somewhat simple and dry.
Final Note: A bit one-dimensional, and with more air time, the nose, palate, and finish all become a little too tannic or bitter. Far from the most offensive bourbon, but a little lackluster given the styling and presentation. If you want to pay $50 for a decent decanter, this is one isn't too hard to find these days.
Our Average Rating: 4.7 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.02
