Wolves & Willett Family Estate The Rye Project Batch No. 1 Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml
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The Wolves & Willett Family Estate The Rye Project Batch No. 1 Straight Rye Whiskey is the December 2021 collaboration between California's Wolves Whiskey and Bardstown's Willett Distillery: a 103 proof rye built on hand-selected 6- and 7-year Kentucky straight rye from Willett's own 74% rye mash bill, limited to just 623 nine-liter cases.
The blend was chosen by two master distillers working side by side — Wolves' Marko Karakasevic and Willett's fifth-generation Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen. The majority of the whiskey came from Willett barrels pulled from Warehouse A, South Rick 14 and Warehouse H, South Rick 6, joined by a 51%-rye Indiana-distilled whiskey aged six years and then further matured in Sonoma County, California. Notably, the team left the whiskey unfinished by design — per the release, they didn't want to alter the spirit with a barrel finish.
“The collaboration whiskey developed out of a friendship,” Kulsveen said. “I met the Wolves guys at a bourbon and cigar event in Bardstown a few years ago... The Wolves team pays attention to every detail - down to the cork.” That cork is its own story: its knob was inspired by a Buscemi-family heirloom baseball bat, a nod to Wolves co-founder Jon Buscemi. Wolves released the whiskey online on December 6, 2021, after select retail markets received allocations that November and December; a barrel-strength Batch Two followed in spring 2022.
For collectors, Batch No. 1 is the inaugural bottling of one of the more credible cross-country collaborations in modern whiskey — Willett's coveted Kentucky rye, a boutique California house obsessed with detail, and a run of roughly 7,500 bottles that will never be repeated. It pairs the pedigree of a family distilling name dating to 1936 with the scarcity that defines everything Willett touches. Batch One is also the collection's cornerstone: every later volume of The Rye Project will be measured against it.
- Size: 750ml
- Proof: 103 (51.5% ABV)
- Age: Majority 6- and 7-year Kentucky straight rye; 6-year Indiana rye component
- Origin: Kentucky (Willett, Bardstown) and Indiana; Indiana component further aged in Sonoma County, CA
- Distillery: Willett Distillery (Kentucky component); blended for Wolves Whiskey
- Whiskey Type: Straight rye whiskey blend — no barrel finish, by design
- Mash Bill: Willett 74% rye component; 51% rye Indiana component
- Series: The Rye Project — Volume One, Batch No. 1 (released December 6, 2021)
- Production: 623 nine-liter cases (approximately 7,476 bottles)
- Selection: Barrels selected by Marko Karakasevic (Wolves) and Drew Kulsveen (Willett) — Warehouse A/South Rick 14 and Warehouse H/South Rick 6
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Cana's vast reach in the industry allows us to locate, acquire and fulfill orders from common everyday drinkers to the promotional celebratory pours. Through working with top cellars and collectors across the globe, we have the ability to find any bottle one wishes to own.
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