Willett Family Estate 6 Year Rye is a single-barrel Kentucky straight rye bottled at cask strength, which means the proof shifts from barrel to barrel and every bottle is its own animal. Distilled and matured at the Willett Distillery in Bardstown, it spends six years in charred oak before going into the squat, hand-numbered decanter the family is known for. The rye grain runs the show: dill and mint over a core of clove, dark caramel and cracked pepper, with the barrel strength stretching that spice into a long, warming close. These are allocated and tend to move quickly when they land. Treat it as a sipping rye first a few drops of water pull it open though it makes a formidable Sazerac when you want to spend one.