Willett Pot Still Whiskey 750ml

Willett Distillery's roots trace to 1936, when Thompson Willett founded the operation on the family farm outside Bardstown, Kentucky. The company passed to his daughter Martha and her husband Even Kulsveen in 1984, who kept it running as an independent bottler for decades before restarting on-site distilling in 2012. Pot Still Reserve debuted in 2008 as a single barrel bourbon, and its distinctive pot-still-shaped decanter won a double gold medal for packaging at that year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition, alongside a gold medal for the whiskey itself.

Pot Still Reserve was originally sourced from undisclosed Kentucky distilleries, aged and blended in Willett's own rickhouses, since the family had no working still of its own at the time of its release. Around 2015, the label quietly shifted from a single barrel product to a small batch blend, and while Willett's own distillate has been running since 2012, the brand has not confirmed exactly when or whether it began appearing in Pot Still Reserve. The bourbon carries no age statement today, though early batches were rumored to be 8 to 10 years old, and it's bottled at 94 proof, or 47 percent ABV.

The nose brings summer fruit, particularly ripe cherry, alongside vanilla, dry oak, and a faint note of buttered popcorn and honey. On the palate, honey and caramel provide a sweet backbone against a light punch of spice and zesty citrus, though the mouthfeel tends to run on the lighter side. The finish opens with a surge of rye spice and cinnamon before buttered popcorn and more caramel return, closing on a lingering, agreeably spicy note.