WillettFamilyEstateRareRelease‘Leon&Son’10YearOldStraightBourbonWhiskey,Kentucky,USA#12474

<p>About Willett Family Estate Rare Release ‘Leon & Son 10×10 tnb’ 10 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky, USA #12474:</p><p>In Bardstown, Chris Leon tasted through ten-year barrels with Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen, moving lot by lot in Rickhouse I before choosing a single cask that wouldn’t let go. Barrel 12474 (Lot 15-E-04) showed the longest, most compelling finish—picked on site and bottled at full strength.</p><p>Technical details</p><ul><li><p>Barrel: #12474</p></li><li><p>Lot: 15-E-04</p></li><li><p>Age: 10 years</p></li><li><p>Mash bill (historic): 72% corn / 13% Rye / 15% malted barley</p></li><li><p>Cooperage / Char: Independent Stave, Char #4 (“alligator” char)</p></li><li><p>Rickhouse / Floor: I / 1 (lower floor; slow, cool maturation)</p></li><li><p>Style: Barrel Proof, uncut and typically unchill-filtered</p></li><li><p>Proof/ABV: Final bottling proof as printed on label</p></li><li><p>Release name: Willett Family Estate Rare Release ‘Leon & Son 10×10 tnb’</p></li></ul><p>From Chris: </p><p><p>Drew pulled an intentionally diverse set of rare 10-year bourbon samples. Two-thirds of the samples were from their historic mashbill (72% Corn, 13% Rye, 15% Barley); one-third from a more wheated blend ( 65% Corn, 20% Wheat 15% Barley). All raised in new, American oak from Independent Stave (Char #4, ‘alligator’ char) for a decade. Across the table, four distinct distillation lots were represented. Every sample came from Rickhouse “I,” Floor 1, and was barrel proof.</p><p>Everything we tasted was excellent and, frankly, far more unique from one another then I could have imagined. The most common thread was actually within the lots themselves. </p><p>Historic mash bill (four barrels across three lots)</p><ul><li><p>Lot 15-H-05 — Barrel 13268</p></li><li><p>Lot 15-E-12 — Barrel 12585</p></li><li><p>Lot 15-E-04 — Barrel 12463</p></li><li><p>Lot 15-E-04 — Barrel 12474</p></li></ul><p>Wheated mash bill (two barrels from one lot)</p><ul><li><p>Lot 15-D-23 — Barrel 12318</p></li><li><p>Lot 15-D-23 — Barrel 12313</p></li></ul><p>I tasted each one multiple times. I loved the immediacy of the wheated barrels, but I kept getting pulled back by the power and length of the historic (corn-heavy) mash bill. Both 15-H-05 (13268) and 15-E-12 (12585) showed sandalwood and white spice; the two 15-E-04 barrels were more exotic and richly textured. Those were the two I couldn’t stop returning to.</p><p>To taste spirits fully, unlike wine, you eventually have to stop spitting. The alcohol overwhelms the finish of any taste when you spit. For the final decision, when I narrowed the choice down to Barrel12463 and 12474 (both 15-E-04), I tasted them again. Without spitting. </p><p>Both of these were stunning; textured, heady bourbons with flavors of bruleed citrus, smoked toffee with waves of deeply cooked warming spices. But, once I swallowed 12474, I knew it was our barrel. Those intense flavors only grew more profound seconds, even minutes, after tasting. </p><p>A second sip confirmed it—this is unequivocally our whiskey. This barrel did what the best wines do: it pushed a tasting from a spectrum of flavors into a full sensory experience, providing that rare sip you taste for minutes and think about for days. Barrel 12474 is truly that special. It’s our 10-year barrel-proof bourbon, and I couldn’t be more proud—or more excited—to have our name on the back label.</p><p>The barrel is being bottled on the last week of September (2025) and will be in the Brooklyn store in October (2025).</p>