This Willett Family Estate 14 Year Skurnik Selection carries that familiar purple-top mystique, but the glass tells a more precise story. Single barrel, cask strength, distilled and aged in Bardstown, then hand bottled at 58.3% ABV for Skurnik’s 2025 “Rare Release” program. High-rye mash shows through clearly, giving structure to the deep sweetness and long-aged oak.
The nose opens with dark caramel, vanilla bean, and polished oak drifting over cherry cobbler and orange oil. Give it a little air, and you’ll catch pipe tobacco, eucalyptus lozenge, and cinnamon stick, plus a faint roasted peanut shell note. It smells concentrated, almost syrupy, yet still bright at the edges.
On the palate, the whiskey lands thick and assertive, exactly what 116.6 proof promises. Toffee, burnt sugar crust, and cherry reduction lead before waves of citrus peel, clove, and black pepper roll through. Rye character pushes herbal mint, anise, and a touch of pine resin, threading through charred oak and a hint of cocoa. A splash of water teases out more orange marmalade, fudge, and toasted pecan while easing the initial heat.
The finish runs long, dry-leaning, and quietly layered. Sweet oak, cigar box, and baking spice sit at the center, with lingering cherry skin and cocoa dust around the edges. Pepper and menthol glow down the chest, then fade into a soft echo of caramel and seasoned wood. It feels built for slow evenings and small pours, not showy flights.
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