Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon Details
Distillery: Willett
Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 54%
Composition: Unknown
Aged: 8 years
Color: 1.0/2.0 on the color scale (deep copper)
Price: $150-250
From the company website:
The first release of Willett Wheated Bourbon was distilled in the early Spring of 2013 and bottled in the Summer of 2022. The proprietary mashbill is barreled at 115 proof in Char# 4 American Oak. We bottle without chill-filtration to preserve the most flavor possible.Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon overview
If you’re reading this review, I’m going to assume you know about Willett. In short, they’re a well known, storied, and popular Kentucky distillery known for their highly sought after Purple top bourbons and Green top ryes.
I remember when these first came out in 2021. Mania was in full effect for this 8 year old wheated purple top, and some were spending hundreds on this. I mean come on, it checked all the boxes
- Wheated Kentucky bourbon – check A completely brand new release from Willett – check
- Willett Purple Top – omg check
- The first Willett-made wheated bourbon in decades – omg omg omg check
- The pandemic – it’s bourbon…must buy…check
There was a perfect (and also very crappy because of the pandemic) storm of factors leading to its incredible hype. And in Purple Top fashion, it was (and still is) quite expensive at around $150 MSRP, and often listed for $200+…because the “P” means “pricey”. But unlike other Purple Tops, it’s not single barrel and doesn’t sport a unique name. It is what it is.
I’m sure this overview has been a bit strange, but let’s taste if Willett has a clear winner in this Willett 8 Year wheated bourbon review.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon smell
I smell honey, a mix of green and red grapes, licorice, roasted oak, brighter cherry, cinnamon, clove, orange peel, bubblegum, and hints of darker roasted caramel nougat in the back. Are we sure that this is made with wheat? I’ve never smelled a wheated bourbon like this before.
It’s so grapey, like artificial grape juice, that’s both interesting and kind of weird. I like the fruitiness, but it also feels odd. Virtually every wheated bourbon I’ve ever had, with the exception of Weller 12 Year and Full Proof, are very orange, cinnamon, and clove-forward. If anything, I guess the fruitiness is closer to Weller Full Proof than any other wheated bourbon that I can think of.
My brain is very confused, and I’m pretty sure that I would never guess this to be wheated if I were doing this blind.
This smells like there’s a lot of rye in the blend, like the other Willett Purple tops that I’ve had that feel very rye-forward…sometimes borderline to the point that they feel more like rye whiskey than bourbon. Hey, but at least there’s no wheaty gumminess, so Willett definitely did that right.
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon has a nice range of darker and brighter scents, so the range is there, but the depth and complexity aren’t all there.
After swirling and rest, there’s honey, red and green grapes, starfruit, bright cherry, darker roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, orange, and some darker roasted sweetness in the back. Yup, Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon still smells both good and weird.
That artificial-ish grapiness is prevalent and I have no idea what Willett does to make it smell like that. Plus, with the herbalness and tropicalness, this really does smell more like a rye’d bourbon than a wheated one…weird.
I wish that there was lower end roundness and layers to dig through. There’s range, but it’s all surface level.
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I initially taste dark honey, fresh red grape, roasted oak, cinnamon, herbal fennel, orange juice, vanilla, and some toasty earthiness and what feels like rosemary. Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon feels more wheaty, with more oak spices and roastiness than the scents do.
There’s good fullness and range with the sweetness, fruitiness, oak, and spice, but it doesn’t feel deep or nuanced yet. The higher ABV brings fullness, but the age / blending does not complete the flavors just yet.
That artificial grape flavor still comes through, which I both enjoy and find to be strange.
After “chewing”, I get brighter honey, grape, starfruit, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, white chocolate, vanilla, and some roasted grains and coconut meat. I get more roasted oak and spices, so that feels wheated bourbon-ish, but overall this still doesn’t really drink like a wheated bourbon.
The aftertastes starts with roasty honey and grape, licorice, cinnamon, and clove with lingering toasted grape and oak. After “chewing”, it leaves honey, grape, roasted oak, cinnamon, roasted grains, and lychee with longer lasting roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, and grape.
The fruitiness sort of reminds me of Weller Full Proof, but Weller is far more developed and interesting than this. But thankfully “chewing” does not bring out any weird gumminess.
I’m all over the palace with these notes because that’s how I feel drinking this. Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon has good richness and flavors, but not much in the way of layers to pick through and back and forth between the various flavors. I enjoy it, but it’s not what I would call an excellent bourbon.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon Rating
I swear that I’m not a Willett hater, but this is a joke for $150. This is maybe…$60 good, which is…yikes. And I think some of it has to do with the peculiar profile…which is unique to Willett’s homemade distillate. Wheated or rye’d, it’s very herbal to the point that it could pass as rye whiskey. By the way, I like their Willett 4 Year Rye (Green Top), which I rated “Top Shelf”.
I know that I should have an open mind when I review whiskeys, but something about the scents and flavors feel strange, especially the artificial grape, although I enjoy them enough overall. It’s not even a bad note, but it sticks out oddly. The brighter artificial grape mixed in with brighter sweetness, and darker roasted oak and spice feels out of place. Grape can actually be a wonderful note, but the good ones come through as a darker and richer roundness…that I guess feels more natural / normal
But profile aside, love it or not, the depth and maturity aren’t all there yet. I think there’s a lot to enjoy already, but great bourbon has more roundness, back and forth between the various notes, and this constant shifting of notes as you smell and taste. That isn’t there yet, and who’s to say that it will get there anytime soon. If it had those aforementioned things and I didn’t love the profile, I still think that would be enough for “Top Shelf”.
I think that Holladay 6 Year Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon has comparable depth and maturity…for $60, albeit it has the more traditional “traditional” wheated bourbon profile that’s citrus and oak spice-forward, and not grapey.
For me at least, Willett 8 Year Wheated Bourbon is an easy pass. It’s still a good bourbon, but it’s weird and out of this world expensive for what it is. I think this is the last Willett-made bourbon I own that I had left to review, and I’m probably going to stop buying them for a while. Well…I’ll make an exception for the affordable Johnny Drum and Rowan’s Creek just so I can complete reviewing the affordable lineup. I’ll pass on buying expensive Willett stuff.
But here’s the thing, I truly believe that Willett makes good whiskey. Even with some of the weird notes, I generally enjoy it. The problem is the ridiculous pricing…which likely stems from the hype and their own over-inflated egos
Willett should not be allowed to get away with pricing their bourbons the way they do when other craft distilleries are making way better whiskey for half to a third of the price.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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