Willett's Newest Purple Top is Back

It is hard to have a conversation about the brands that shaped the modern American whiskey landscape without mentioning Willett.

For years, the chase for a Willett Family Estate purple top was a defining part of bourbon culture. Some single barrels earned near-mythical status among enthusiasts, becoming as much a status symbol on the shelf as they were a whiskey to open and enjoy. At the same time, Willett Family Estate Small Batch Rye became a dependable favorite for anyone who simply wanted to keep a great Willett whiskey within reach.

Today, we are releasing Willett Family Estate Small Batch Bourbon.

We received our first allotment in April and offered it exclusively to our text list. It sold out almost immediately, and we are excited to be back with another round.

This four-year bourbon blends two of Willett’s classic mash bills, a lower-rye bourbon foundation of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley with a smaller portion of its higher-rye recipe of 52% corn, 38% rye, and 10% malted barley. The result is a more approachable way to experience the cask-strength character of a Willett purple top without feeling the need to treat the bottle like a museum piece.

It carries plenty of the fruit, spice, and distinctive Willett character we look for, but it arrives in a format that practically asks to be opened, shared, and not just kept on the shelf. Final bottling proof varies by batch at the discretion of Master Distiller and fifth-generation whiskey maker Drew Kulsveen.

Willett Family Estate Small Batch Bourbon is available again, but based on how quickly the first allotment disappeared, we do not expect this round to last long.