Few bottles on the back bar wear their identity quite like Willett Pot Still Reserve. Shaped like a miniature copper pot still, the decanter is a love letter to the Kentucky distilling family that has been blending and bottling at Bardstown since 1936. The Willetts (now under the Kulsveen stewardship) restarted their own distillation in 2012, and Pot Still Reserve has long been the elegant, accessible face of the brand.
Pour it into a Glencairn and the bourbon glows a deep amber. The nose leans straight into traditional Kentucky territory — caramel corn, vanilla custard, toasted oak — with a soft baking-spice lift and a sliver of orange zest that keeps it from feeling heavy. There is no flash here, just confident, well-mannered bourbon perfume.
On the palate it delivers exactly what the nose promises: butterscotch and brown sugar up front, honeyed cornbread in the middle, then a slow rolling wave of cinnamon, clove and old leather. At 94 proof it has enough muscle to feel serious without ever turning hot. The mouthfeel is round and slightly oily, which lets the sweetness cling pleasingly to the tongue.
The finish is where Pot Still Reserve earns its quiet devotion. It lingers on dry oak and char, with caramel and vanilla returning in long, gentle pulses. It is the kind of finish that makes you reach for the glass again before you have decided why.
Is it the most complex bourbon Willett puts out? No — that honour belongs to the Family Estate single barrels. But Pot Still Reserve is honest, beautifully made, gift-worthy and genuinely delicious. The bottle is a keepsake; the liquid inside is the reason you keep refilling it.
