We’ve encountered a lot of divisive bourbons, but none quite as divisive as Willett Pot Still Reserve.
Around 2008, the Willett Distillery first rolled out their Pot Still Reserve as a single barrel bourbon. The Willett Distillery dates back to 1936, even though the Willett family’s bourbon roots go even deeper than that. Prior to Pot Still, the distillery was known for bourbons like Old Bardstown Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Johnny Drum Bourbon, Willett Family Estate Bottled Bourbon and Rye, Rowan’s Creek, Noah’s Mill, Kentucky Vintage, and Pure Kentucky. So the Pot Still Reserve bourbon had an exciting new flair to it.
In 2008, the single barrel bourbon also came stamped with an age statement of 8-10 years and the flashy bottle design that remains today. However, by 2015 Willett quietly switched over from a single barrel bourbon to a small batch one. Allegedly, Willett does actually pull from a “small” batch with something like 12 barrels making up the sample for Pot Still Reserve, but we don’t know the exact size. In fact, we really don’t know much about the bourbon at all. Willett has been pretty hush-hush about the details of Willett Pot Still Reserve, which may be due to its sourcing. Even though we know this bourbon was entirely sourced at some point, we don’t know any of the sources or if that practice remains today. But the mysterious sourcing of the bourbon isn’t the divisive part – it’s the flavor.
People who love Willett Pot Still Reserve say it’s a surprisingly underrated bourbon that’s packed full of caramel, vanilla, citrus, and rye spices for a reasonable price. People who hate Willett Pot Still Reserve say it’s packed full of grass and moss flavor and not much else. Quite the range. Unfortunately for us, we fall into the grass and moss group. If you could taste the smell of freshly cut grass, then this would be it. It’s a thin, slightly hot and a bit bitter bourbon with such an awful and over-pouring combination of flavors.
No matter how we poured it or how we mixed it, the only flavors we could find were those overwhelmingly grassy ones. It’s not a bourbon we can personally recommend, but hey you never know – you could pick up a bottle and be one of those lucky individuals who falls in love.
STATS: Willett Pot Still Reserve
- Price for us: $45 for 750ML
- Proof: 94
- Aged: NAS
- Distillery: Willett Distillery
- Recommendation: We do not recommend
