Willett Family Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (Fall 2026 Limited Release)

Willett is one of only two family-owned and operated distilleries left in Kentucky. Everyone else has gone corporate. The other family holdout – Heaven Hills – does about 2,000 cases per small batch. Willett makes about 50. Fifty cases. That’s it. This is as small-batch as small-batch gets, and the Fall 2026 Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength is their crème de la crème. I attended an industry tasting last week where this was far and away the star of the show. It wasn’t even close. It was absurd how good this was. I thought I was going to have to offer collateral to get a shot at it. Instead, Jen told me we were going to get an exclusive. Woah.

To make this one even better, instead of the standard high-rye mash bill that dominates Kentucky bourbon, Willett uses wheat. 65% corn, 20% wheat, 15% malted barley. That mashbill is flawless. That wheat gives this bourbon a personality so unique and compelling it becomes genuinely hard to put down. Deep caramel, vanilla bean, toasted oak and wheat sweetness with dark fruit and warm baking spice underneath. Creamy, robust mouthfeel. Bottled uncut at true cask strength. Presented in their iconic pot-still-shaped decanter with that distinctive purple cask strength neck label – it is one of the most beautiful and recognizable bottles in all of American whiskey.