Whisky Connosr
Menu
Shop

Willett Willet's Single Barrel "Soppressata"

Big Bright Orange Woodiness

0 495

@VictorReview by @Victor

2nd May 2011

0

Willett Willet's Single Barrel "Soppressata"
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    24
  • Overall
    95

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Willett "Soppressata" is a Single Barrel bourbon expression of the Even Kulsveen owned Kentunky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. "Soppressata" is 18 years old and is bottled at 139.4 proof/69.7% ABV

Nose: maple and oak greeting with sweet orange and caramel. Bold and delightful

Taste: brightly flavoured sweet orange, followed by maple and caramel. Big flavours here and quite delicious

Finish: long and as nearly as delightful as the nose. All the flavours remain until the end

Balance: everything works here. An outstanding example of just how good hand-picked barrels of bourbon can be. Sometimes with new-oak aging above 15 years the balance of flavours will work, and sometimes the wood just takes over and weighs everything down. In this case the integration of the flavours is marvellous

Find where to buy Willett whisky

Nose:

Body:

Palate:

Related Willett reviews

Read more Willett whisky reviews

4 comments

@AboutChoice
AboutChoice commented

Hi @Victor, looks like you discovered some fascinating and delightful bottles ... and good to hear about them. But I just have to now ask (at least rhetorically): where do these flavors come from ... how does bourbon acquire an orange character ... and is someone bending the rules on bourbon ?

Someone recently reviewed another bourbon (forgot what it was), for which the label stated that the bottle contained bourbon, but that it was later flavored. I believe this process (and perhaps trend) is indeed allowed in the industry. So I wonder if this is what Kulsveen is up to ... or am I just totally off on the wrong track :)?

13 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@AboutChoice, I think that the orange flavour in the "Soppressatta" is from the wood. 18 years is a long time, and there are many variations and idiosyncracies of oak wood available for aging, as Buffalo Trace is even now beginning to systematically explore. Frankly I think Kulsveen would risk destroying the company if additives were to be used. These whiskies don't taste like cheap caramel-added schlock. Nothing like it.

13 years ago 0

@cpstecroix
cpstecroix commented

I just finished the sample of this you graciously left with me and I was reminded of a both a great evening and what an amazing whisky this is. Wow.

12 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

The barrel for 'Sopressata' (the actual spelling on the Willett bottles, rather than the spelling of Soppressata, above, which is the correct spelling for the name for the Italian dry salami) is # 79, of which there were a total of 131 bottles. These old whiskeys have a lot of evaporation. @cpstecroix, did your bourbon-loving wife get a chance to get another taste of Sopressata before your sample was all gone?

12 years ago 0