Willett Pot Still Reserve: The fruitier side of the maraschino comes up front, and mixes with dark bitter orange. It reminds me of a cooking orange, or maybe some orange peel with a touch of brown sugar. It’s a bit sweet and a bit bitter all at the same time. A bit of oak and caramel mix in here and make for a pretty tasty pour. I dig the finish. This isn’t the most complex whiskey but it’s balanced, and brings out uncommon notes.

Old Bardstown (bottled in bond): A fruity offering that leans a little toward grapes on the vine. The fruit is mixing with spice that works pretty well. There’s a little heat with this, although it isn’t out of line. Being BiB it’s obviously four years old, and I doubt it was aged much beyond that. No flaws at all in this, it just doesn’t strike me as having a ton of depth. This is certainly a killer budget pour bringing a good amount of fruit with it.

Old Bardstown (90 proof): Very balanced, but pretty light overall. I do notice some vanilla in this pour. It’s also spicy like it’s bottled-in-bond neighbor, but doesn’t carry itself in as bold a way. All in all it’s a decent pour, albeit on the simple side.

Old Bardstown (estate bottled): It’s pretty interesting how these products flying the Old Bardstown flag are so different while still being roughly the same. A noticeably softer mouthfeel and a deeper band of light caramel with a touch of butter runs through this. This one touches a bit more of that orange peel note that I find in the Pot Still brand, and that caramel works with some oak. I dig it.

Johnny Drum (private stock): 101 Proof and wax topped, Johnny Drum pours a little oily in the glass. A few swirls open up a ton of spice for me. I dig the oak and some sweetness, maybe brown sugar, but then it’s a big old cinnamon roll. This could very easily become a favorite autumn whiskey, or even Christmas whiskey. The amount of baking spices and big toasty cinnamon are something to talk about.

Johnny Drum (black label): The budget-conscious low proof sipper.  While being about the cheapest offering in the family, this was the hardest to track down.  Once a somewhat available bottle was relegated to gift-shop only before apparently being discontinued (or created is such low quantity as to make it indiscernible if it exists at all).  Flavor and rating-wise this is falling directly in line behind Old Bardstown for me in terms of flavor and overall profile.  Kind of a shame, really, because the big spice layers in Johnny Drum Private Stock are all but vacant in this lower proof offering.

Willett Family Estate Rye (4yr): Medicinal and herbal all at the same time. There’s a good amount of spice and fruit mixing in. All in all this is complex enough on the nose that I feel like ten minutes of nosing the glass wouldn’t do it enough justice. A really unique rye, especially in the sense that I don’t pick up a ton of rye until the back. The finish shows the rye spice and it goes on and on. One of the highest proof of our lineup (this bottle coming in at 110.8 proof), and combining those extra proof points with the complexity of the spicy fruits makes for sorcery on the finish.

Rowan’s Creek: As I sip this and work through the flavors I keep coming back to the odd proof. It’s 50.05% ABV (100.1) proof and I just can’t quite wrap my mind around why? This is nice, and leans more toward the fruity side. I’m not picking up a ton of oak or any “dark” flavors I catch in some of the other products in the lineup. There’s a bit of a sweet tea note going on, and something light and reminiscent of toffee.

Noah’s Mill: This may very well make for a great flagship product. There’s a good amount going on in the glass between floral and sweet notes, but it’s balanced. The mouthfeel is good. Doesn’t strike me as hot, even with a proof of 114.3. It’s working on being dark and fruity while still having a light nose…pretty interesting overall. I’m also getting some of that sweet tea on this product but it’s working in tandem with the other notes in a way that just works.

Kentucky Vintage: If the classic “Willett note” was removed, I feel like this could be labeled as a generic bourbon. I’m unsure if it’s the lower proof (90) that is making it seem generic or not. There isn’t really a big driving flavor in any one direction. There’s vanilla and a bit of caramel in there but I can’t help but pick up the floral maraschino as the only interesting characteristic. It isn’t flawed, it’s just very middle of the road.

Pure Kentucky XO: The last of the wax-topped bottles I opened in this lineup, and if I had to pick a favorite of those four it would come down to a toe-to-toe duel between Pure Kentucky XO and Johnny Drum. Where the Johnny Drum is big and spicy, the Pure Kentucky is sweet and elegant. Richer flavors that come through in a softer way and slowly take turns showing up. Something like butterscotch or maybe even English toffee like a Heath bar. I find myself relating bourbons to candy bars too often…I may need to work on that. Moving on! This is a good pour, and I am really curious about the age of this one. Sitting at 107 proof (a personal favorite of mine) and having a rich flavor, I’m quite happy with this.