As I briefly mentioned here I'm gradually working on some mid-tier whiskey recommendations, for which American products will be ~$40-65. Hopefully that'll come out this summer. What that means for now is 'research' on expressions in that range, especially trying examples from companies I'm less familiar with. My idealistic side wishes to find widely available and well-priced gems, because the hunt is tiring and not for everyone.
Until recently I knew little about Willett (outside Johnny Drum and the typically more pricey Family Estate line), but they're a fairly big name and I wanted to check out something else they make. It turned out they have a few potentially interesting small batch Bourbons, including the 'Pot Still' Reserve (which comes in a ridiculous decanter), Rowan's Creek and Noah's Mill. I was most interested in Noah's Mill after perusing a few reviews, where at first glance it sounded like the best bet. When I found it under MSRP, I brought one home. Afterward I did a little more reading and was a little frustrated with what I learned.
First, it turns out Noah's Mill has forever been 'sourced whiskey,' meaning it wasn't distilled by Willett themselves (also called Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, or KBD) even if they did bottle it. This appears to have been the company's m.o. for decades, earning a nickname 'the big daddy of Bourbon and Rye bottling' according to their Wikipedia page. I must say that a company acquiring spirit from elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean it'll be of lower quality, with which it's usually associated, but it does make it harder for a bottler to produce consistency and recognizability without controlling the entire process.
To address this KBD started distilling themselves in 2012, really jumping into the Bourbon boom. I'd heard most of their (own) new distillate went into more premium products, namely the Family Estate Bourbons and Ryes. As a result I expected my Noah's Mill to still be sourced. But, nope, the label for mine says 'Distilled, Aged and Bottled by Willett Distillery.' So this is Willett distillate after all, a change that must be quite recent. I wasn't sure whether this was a good or bad thing, as the brand is clearly in transition.
Second, Noah's Mill used to have a 15 year age statement (like 10 years ago) where it currently has nothing. Since dropping the statement it's been thought to be a blend of Bourbons four to 20 years old, but this has to be doubted or frankly disbelieved if it's all Willett distillate, which could be at most eight years old. Due to rising demand, it hasn't been uncommon for whiskey producers to ditch age statements to put more product out in the market. Some companies have done this without a precipitous drop in quality and others have not. As such it was another unpromising sign of a whiskey on the decline, saying maybe I shouldn't have bought this bottle. But I did, and was still hopeful considering it has plenty of fans that led me to buy it in the first place.
Moving on, I couldn't find any background to find on the name 'Noah's Mill.' Willett is privately owned and located on the site of an old family farm, so my best guess is there is/was a mill building on site and an old member of the family named Noah. The brand was introduced in the mid-1990s and already the packaging is in sore need of an update, as everything looks strange and/or old and not in a good way. At first glance I'd think it was a Chardonnay bottle. The labels are all shades of tan and brown and the writing font is almost childish. It's also weirdly called 'genuine Bourbon whiskey,' which is not a regulated term, when supposedly it does qualify as 'straight Bourbon whiskey.' My bottle is batch 20-38, meaning it was bottled in 2020 and presumably was the 38th batch last year.
I'll save any further Willett/KBD history for another time, perhaps when I review the bottle of 4 year Rye I have in the basement. For now let's finish this one.
ABV - 57.15% (114.3 proof)
Mash - Undisclosed, at least 51% corn
Maturation - New charred oak barrels
Age - At least 4 years (maybe?)
Location - Bardstown, Kentucky
Price - Usually low $50s (found mine for $44)
Tasting Notes:
Smell - Orange, booze, burnt caramel, something else unusual
Color - Medium amber
Taste - Vanilla, caramel, nuts (that's it!), cinnamon, also something (per my wife) 'astringent'
Finish - Strong/ABV is apparent, sweet flavors and burn warm whole mouth
Final Thoughts:
This is no gem. On one hand there are interesting things happening and I've love to try a more mature version (like the original 15 year!), as the nut and spice combination are unique. Unfortunately it's too young and overpriced for what's delivered. That they so play up the age ('fully mature' 'long years and patience' 'mellow') feels like compensation or a weird holdover from the past. In this case the bottle doesn't look great and the whiskey only tastes okay, seemingly a ghost of a superior product long gone. At least this second sampling was a slight improvement on the first (bad neck pour?).
I wonder if the quality was higher before they started using their own spirit. Or if I simply got a subpar bottle, as I've also read Noah's Mill has significant batch variation. Or, if I'm being suspicious, if KBD is taking advantage of the label and using stuff less than four years old. Note to self, always look at what the bottle tells you! The conclusion here is I won't be buying this again or recommending it. Honestly it's kind of a turn off to Willet overall, though I did like Johnny Drum a while back (as it's better and $20 cheaper). Maybe their products will improve in the next few years with more aged stock.
Still, I'm not going to complain about having a dram in my hand. Next time I'll make sure it's something more satisfying. For tonight, cheers!
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