Willett 23 Year Barrel 296 Gift Shop Release With Tube 134 Proof

Willett 23 Year Barrel 296 is a gift shop release from the Willett Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky — distilled April 6, 1993 at the Bernheim Distillery by Master Distiller Ed Foote as a wheated bourbon mash bill, aged 23 years, and bottled at 134 proof (67% ABV) with tube presentation, representing one of the most exceptional ultra-aged, ultra-high-proof wheated bourbons ever released under the Willett Family Estate label.

The provenance is specific and significant: distilled at Bernheim by Ed Foote — the legendary distiller who defined the Heaven Hill house style and trained the generation of Kentucky distillers that followed. Wheated bourbon uses wheat as the secondary grain in place of rye, producing softer, sweeter, and rounder character than high-rye mash bills — at 23 years of age in new charred American oak, that wheat-forward sweetness has fully integrated with antique wood complexity, producing the dark caramel, maple syrup, and dried fruit depth that only multi-decade maturation achieves. At 134 proof, the concentration of two-plus decades of evaporation and oak extraction is preserved without dilution. Willett gift shop releases are produced in extremely small quantities — single barrels available exclusively through the distillery's own gift shop, making them among the most genuinely rare bourbon bottles in the market.

Tasting Notes

• Nose: Antique oak, maple syrup, dark cherry, cigar box, and toasted pecans
• Palate: Burnt sugar, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, aged leather — baking spice, tobacco, and charred oak
• Finish: Exceptionally long — mature sweetness, rickhouse character, and sustained warmth

Specs

• Distillery: Distilled at Bernheim Distillery by Ed Foote
• Bottler: Willett Distillery, Bardstown, Kentucky — Gift Shop Release
• Style: Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon — Single Barrel
• Distillation date: April 6, 1993
• Age: 23 years
• Barrel: 296
• ABV: 67% (134 Proof)
• Presentation: With tube
• Size: 750ml

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