Willett Family Estate 5 years, Barrel no. 201, 71/196, 62.5% abv.

Nose: a burning vanilla, some bbq sauce, lime juice, passion fruit.

Palate: a little strong, initial palate is wood, mid palate has some wood and a good amount of oak, perhaps over-oaked, thick honey where it is almost caramleized wood. Pretty one-dimensional with a focus on medium to full bodied, boring flavors. Not good.

Finish: medium to long, slightly oaky, but an overall overoaked aftertaste.

The flavors are intense on this one, but definitely more on the honey oaky side, which I find very strange, since it's such a young bourbon. Can't say it's a top pick, but quite flavorful if I was looking for an oaky profile. I guess not all Willett are amazing. Heard this is from a recent batch, making it their own distillate. Overall a little over-oaked.

Grade: D

Whiskyanalysis.com, 8.98 ± 0.26 on 16 reviews (all ages for bourbons)

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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