Willett Family Estate 8 years, Barrel 4179, 58.5% abv. Gold wax top.

This is a "Bonilli Pick", didn't even know it. Bonilli was a Japanese importer that is apparently more famous for importing vintage WFEs than anything else. I'll have to do more research on them, but I know the bottles that are offered in secondary markets usually get snatched up pretty quickly nowadays.

Nose: sweet honey, slight marmalade.

Palate: concentrated brown sugar, spice is later.

Finish: spice, a little mellow, mostly light honey notes.

Dry glass: waxy.

Seemed like a mellowed bourbon, although that semi-syruppy sweetness is there. I'm pretty sure that the WFE rye I had 2 drinks before is still affecting me... I took these pours in the wrong order; first a really hot WFE rye at 55% and then a WFE bourbon at 60%, and now another one at 59%. Sigh. Again, I know it's not the most descriptive of notes, but I was a bit distracted for this pour. Took a slight break to recover my taste buds after this pour. The night was still young and quite entertaining.

Grade: C

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

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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