Don’t Miss a Collectible Trophy Coveted Among Rye Fanatics
Wolves in Collaboration With Willett Family Estate “Batch 2” Cask Strength A Blend Of Straight Rye Whiskeys (750ml) ($289.99)
“…it easily delivers a similar quality experience to the coveted Willett single barrels I’ve tried.” — David Othenin-Girard, K&L Spirits Buyer

In the realm of luxury, collectible rye whiskey, Willett sits at the absolute pinnacle of the pyramid as one of the most coveted (and expensive) names in the market. What’s a rye fanatic to do when a bottle of Willett single barrel will often cost you up to four figures? You turn to the remarkable collaborative bottlings from Wolves, a California-based distiller that first came to our attention with their inaugural release of this jaw-dropping blend of 6- and 7-year-old rye casks from the iconic Kentucky distillery. With a touch of older stocks from Indiana’s MGP distillery blended in, Batch 2 of the collaboration is a quintessential, cask-strength Willett expression that has already seen intense action from trophy hunters across the U.S. market. As a result, it’s now almost impossible to find, but we’ve secured enough supply to offer it out to our most committed rye collectors. K&L spirits buyer David Othenin-Girard declares, “it might just be better than any single cask on the market today,” and we’ve already moved through our allocation at quite a clip, which means anyone seeking the very best collectible treasures should act fast to add this to their stash while they can.

Wolves in Collaboration With Willett Family Estate “Batch 2” Cask Strength A Blend Of Straight Rye Whiskeys (750ml) ($289.99)

K&L Notes: The Wolves is a creative collaboration based in California. They’ve released several single malts with Marko Karakasevic of Charbay Distillery, but it’s this project with the Willett Family Estate that put them on the map. This is the second batch of this smash hit, which is similar to the first but older and bottled at cask strength. This whisky is made up of 6- and 7-year-old rye hand-selected by Willett Master Distiller, Drew Kulsveen. Using the 74% rye mashbill from Willett House A, South Rick 14, and House H, South Rick 6, the team deftly blends the exceptionally rare and well-regarded whiskey with older stocks distilled at MGP in Indiana. A bottle of single barrel Willett Rye in the 7-year range easily commands close to four figures, and this wonderful blend highlights the very best of these two special distilleries. Extremely limited and already sold out throughout the country, we’re very lucky to have received a significant allocation, but we’ve already sold most of it so don’t wait any longer if you’re on the fence.

David Othenin-Girard | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: July 27, 2022

The craziest thing about Willett is how consistently unavailable it is. People go absolutely nuts for their single casks, but we haven’t seen a single cask in years. So, to get high-proof, aged Willett, you’ve got to pay secondary market prices, which in this day and age will run you a truly outrageous mark-up. Of course, this is neither single barrel nor all Willett, but it might just be better than any single cask on the market today. They’ve put a lot of thought into making this special dram. Let’s taste. The color is a vibrant tawny. The nose is full-on Willett rye, offering a gorgeous mixture of powerful pine sap, lacquer box, burnt orange peel, candied pecans, cinnamon apple candy, and earthy mineral character. On the palate, big, rich, toasted cinnamon, dense minty rye, sweet caramel-covered apples. This is a big boy and needs plenty of time in the glass. I think it easily delivers a similar quality experience to the coveted Willett single barrels I’ve tried and adds nuance through blending, which gives balance and character. Obviously this one is very expensive, but it will nonetheless be gone very soon. Enjoy it while you can.