Credit: Lost Cargo
Willett Family Estate 4 Year Small Batch Rye is a small batch rye distilled by Willett Distillery.
Willett began distilling in-house again in 2012, and in 2014 released a two-year old Small Batch Rye. This was shortly followed by a three-year old small batch rye, before finally releasing a 4-year old expression in 2018, which has remained in the company’s year-round lineup ever since.
The whiskey is a blend of two of Willett’s rye mashbills:
- High rye mashbill: 74% rye, 11% corn, 15% malted barley
- Kow rye mashbill: 51% rye, 34% corn, 15% malted barley
It differs from much of the rest of the Willett Family Estate family in that it is a batched product. Most of the rest of the WFE expressions are released as single barrels, and there are only very subtle differences in the labels: for example, the top label on the front reads “Family Estate Bottled Small Batch Rye,” as opposed to “Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Rye” on the rarer releases.
New batches are released periodically, so proof varies from release to release. Willett barrels their whiskeys at 115 proof, and expressions tend to be around 110 proof when bottled.
