When we considered putting oats in a Bourbon, our minds went to the chocolate oatmeal stouts we enjoyed in our brewing careers. Those rich stouts, and resultant, "Winter Whiskey," imbue our palates with the warmth and cheer of the season. Winter Whiskey is a Bourbon with the unique spice of raw and malted oats, backed by roasted cocoa notes of chocolate malt. It's quite a unique Bourbon, unlike anything we've ever made or tasted. The experience is something of a three-way conversation between the dry cocoa quality of the chocolate malt; a balanced amount of oak; and this unique spicy quality (sort of like kasha-style buckwheat, perhaps blueberry skin) quite distinct from that of rye. The finish dances away on the oaty spice, dusted with Belgian cocoa. Despite the suggestion of “chocolate” in the grains and the name, it never turns cloying, tending to delicate dryness.

The first release of Willett Wheated Bourbon was distilled in the early Spring of 2013 and bottled in the Summer of 2022. The proprietary mash bill is barreled at 115 proof in Char# 4 American Oak. We bottle without chill-filtration to preserve the most flavor possible.