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The final Bourbon Bytes Podcast episode of 2025 is here, and it’s a big one. In this episode, Clifton wraps up the year with honest reflections on the future of Bourbon Bytes, the bourbon industry heading into 2026, and a "Byte-Sized Review" of the brand-new Willett Family Estate Small Batch 4 Year Cask Strength Bourbon. Willett is one of the most polarizing names in whiskey, and this new four-year-old, cask strength release has sparked plenty of debate. Is it a promising step forward for Willett’s own distillate, or does the price and presentation lean too hard on hype? Clifton breaks down the nose, palate, finish, value, and expectations while also sharing broader thoughts on availability, pricing, and what bourbon drinkers may see more of in the coming year. Whiskey news, honest reviews, and real talk to close out 2025. Cheers, and see you in 2026 00:00 – Welcome & Final Episode of 2025 02:30 – End-of-Year Reflections & 2026 Outlook 04:32 – Where Bourbon Bytes Is Headed Next 08:06 – Thoughts on the Bourbon Market in 2026 12:20 – Byte-Sized Review: Willett Family Estate Small Batch 4 Year Bourbon 23:05 – Listener Questions & Closing Thoughts
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, we're wrapping up the year with some of my biggest wishes for 2026
0:07
From personal goals to the Bourbon Bites platform and even the world of bourbon and whiskey in the new year
0:13
And lastly, I give my final bite-sized review of the year. The new Willett Family Estate 4-Year-Old Small Batch Cast Strength Bourbon Whiskey
0:30
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Bourbon Bites podcast. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, December 18th, 2025
0:42
So this will be the last episode of the Bourbon Bites podcast for the year
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So we're going to consider this like a mid-season break where I take a few weeks off and then come back to you early January slash mid-January, whenever we feel like the time is right
0:58
So since this will be the last episode of the year, I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about my hopes and dreams for 2026
1:07
And I mean that very broadly. I don't just mean for myself or for the podcast or the YouTube channel, but for the bourbon and whiskey industry in general
1:16
I want to just kind of make this like putting it out there in the universe episode of the podcast and we'll see what happens
1:23
Now another reason I'm doing this is because there's really not much more news stories than I've already reported on this month
1:29
A lot of whiskeys are being put out early next year, which I talked about in last week's episode
1:34
And we really have gotten the most we can get out of the industry this year
1:39
I'm still working on putting together my top 10 whiskeys of the year
1:43
I have a list, a short list I would say, of about 15 or so that I'm going to narrow down in the next day or two
1:50
I will be premiering this on my YouTube channel at 7pm Pacific, 10pm Eastern on New Year's Day, January 1st, 2026
2:00
And I'm really looking forward to sharing what whiskeys, mostly bourbons, but there's a few other exceptions out there as well, have really caught my eye and really just exceeded my expectations this year
2:12
Now, of course, I do have one more whiskey I'm going to review on this episode of the podcast that is a contender for sure
2:19
I've not tried it yet. I'm very excited to give it a try, but we'll get to that bite-sized review
2:24
just a little bit later. Like I said, I want today to be all about dreams for 2026. So I'm
2:31
debating whether I start with the world of bourbon, my YouTube channel, or my personal life. I feel
2:37
like I'll start with the personal life stuff just to get that out of the way so we can get back to talking about bourbon. So if you've been following my journey, I was laid off at the end of October
2:45
and it's a really big deal because this past job I had was probably the most aligned with my career
2:53
goals that I've ever had but I am very very hopeful for my future not only have I met some
3:00
incredible people at my previous company but all of our agencies all of our partners I just had
3:07
this wonderful new network of people that I'm hoping are going to help me land the next role
3:12
in early 2026. I hope so at least. You know, it's funny. I've been asked by quite a few people if
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I'm looking to do a bit of a career pivot and get into something different than I've done in the
3:24
past. And that's a great question. You know, I love the bourbon industry. I love the whiskey industry
3:29
I know that there's PR agencies that are incredible. I've worked with several of them on the channel
3:34
So I'm not ruling it out, but I don't want to think of it as a career pivot because I think my
3:38
creativity and my skills really benefit from staying in the entertainment space. Now, of course
3:46
I went from educational television at my last role to prime time entertainment at my most recent
3:54
role. I'll leave it at that. But yeah, I think the world of entertainment is such a big part of my
4:01
life just as a film watcher, as a fan of so many incredible TV series. I'm not quite ready to leave
4:07
that industry yet so I think my next role will still be in the industry but I'm not opposed to
4:12
exploring a little bit outside the lines and maybe venturing into some product marketing maybe some
4:18
you know alcoholic beverages we'll see we'll see what happens but yeah I just want to give that
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update I know a few people have been asking and I appreciate all your thoughts and well wishes
4:29
but yeah so that's my personal life let's talk about what I want to do with bourbon bites in
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2026. I haven't thought too much about the long-term goals in a while. Since starting back
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up the podcast, I think of it week to week. What I've built with the Barman Bites podcast so far
4:46
has been incredible. I love hearing your feedback on these episodes. I know a lot of you guys don't
4:52
listen to too many podcasts, but this is one of the ones you choose to listen to, and that does
4:57
mean the world to me. I want to continue to provide a source for whiskey and video game news
5:03
that's not just drawn out over an hour or two of content
5:07
I really want to give it to you straight and to the point and also mix in my opinions and reviews along with it
5:14
I love doing my live streams where I talk for an hour or more about a whiskey flight
5:19
or invite a guest on to talk about their brand. I know this past week I just went live with Jazz from Bardstown Bourbon Company
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and we talked almost an hour and a half just sharing our stories and love of bourbon
5:32
So if you missed that live stream, go check it out. But for the channel, I really, really enjoy doing interviews with guests. I think this comes from my background of being a video editor. I used to edit interviews with students and alumni and professors with my college back at College of Charleston when I was a student there
5:53
And I love shaping a story out of people's experiences. So being the person not just behind the camera or in the editor chair but being the person asking them questions and getting to know their story and the story of their brand is really fun to me
6:08
And I hope you guys see that in the content I put out on YouTube. This week, by the way
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I'm having another guest on. It should be an absolutely fun one and definitely a different
6:17
one. This week we're having on the folks from Branch and Barrel Distilling out of Colorado
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I've never had any other whiskeys, but they were very generous. They sent me a core lineup flight which we're doing on this week's episode and then in early 2026 probably
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january or february we're doing a part two where we try some of their more experimental products so
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i love featuring both big brands like bart's tom bourbon company and small craft distilleries
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like branch and barrel of course i always feel like the brand's evolving not just
6:47
the podcast but the youtube channel i'm really finding my voice in the industry
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and I think you know 2026 could bring a whole new audience into Bourbon Bites so we might change
7:00
things up anyway but if you have any suggestions for the YouTube channel or the podcast just let
7:05
me know. All right and before I move on to the bourbon industry in general I do want to say for
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the Bite Club or my Patreon members this is the season that I am most thankful for your support
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I want you to know that I see you. I see you coming out and watching the live streams
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listening to the episode of the podcast and just showing your support in big ways so i just i want
7:27
to say thank you all so much for the support throughout the year you really do make this
7:31
possible especially when i you know lost my day job buying bottles was not at the forefront of my
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mind but then i remembered that this community is amazing you guys are allowing me to buy fun
7:43
bottles to review and give you my honest feedback and thoughts and i i think you guys appreciate it
7:49
least I hope you appreciate it or else why would you support me but I just want to say like a quick
7:55
thank you again for everyone throughout 2025 that has joined or rejoined the bike club or the
8:00
patreon thank you for making 2025 a year for the books it's been incredible and lastly what do I
8:08
hope for the bourbon and whiskey industry for 2026 wow what a loaded question I can't believe
8:14
I asked it to myself. Oh well, let's get into it. The bourbon industry is in kind of a weird space
8:20
right now because while I am seeing bottles appear on the shelves that I've never seen on the shelves
8:25
before, I also feel like it's a sign of the times where people say, you know, has the bourbon bubble
8:31
busted? But I feel like 2026 is going to be a pivotal year in the world of American whiskey
8:37
I will say I just was in the grocery store and my local BevMo today. I saw E.H. Taylor Small Batch
8:44
I saw Eagle Rare. I saw Blanton's on the shelves, guys. So this kind of sets this tone of like
8:50
what's coming in 2026. And I don't think anyone can really predict it. What I will say is I do
8:56
have hopes and dreams for this next year in bourbon, especially. One, I want to see brands continue to
9:03
release high aged quality products at a reasonable price. I talked about last week that Knob Creek
9:09
12 cast strength might be making a comeback in early 2026 and i hope that at least is somewhat
9:15
more available than the previous release listen we've had so many craft whiskey brands come out
9:21
in the past five to ten years i appreciate what they've done but what i want to see is the flagship
9:27
bourbon and whiskey brands in the u.s releasing more higher age maybe higher proof products
9:33
proof is more of a variable depending on you know why they choose to release it at higher proof and
9:39
I think we're heading that way. I think it's just going to take a little bit of time because
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there are brands like the one I'm going to review on this week's episode where they've been known as
9:48
being this high profile, high end brand. And they're kind of like, where do we price our four
9:53
year old bourbon? You know, I think that could be a dilemma that their marketing and their
9:57
distribution teams are facing. But I think this year will be, like I said, a pivotal transition
10:02
year where we'll start to see prices regulating a little bit, you know, maybe either coming down
10:07
or just having more availability of some harder to find bottles. Both of those, I think, are wins for the consumer
10:12
And I think both of those things will happen this year. I just don't know how long it'll take for them to actually reflect across the country
10:19
because everyone's market is different. You know what I selfishly also want to see
10:24
I want to see more of these big brands reaching out to influencers that aren't the big guys
10:31
Reach out to the smaller influencers because guess what? We all have a voice in this industry
10:35
You know, I love Whiskey Advocate. I love Fred Minnick, all these major channels and people that give incredible reviews that I am even influenced by
10:45
But I think what they're missing out on is what a lot of smaller brands are capitalizing on
10:50
There are so many smaller creators in the bourbon and whiskey space that if you send them media samples of your bottle, they're all going to be talking about it
11:00
And when they're talking about it, their audience is talking about it. That's why I see brands spring up out of nowhere, just because the distributor or the brand took a chance on smaller influencers
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And I say smaller, but really look at the world of WhiskeyTubers or Whiskey Podcasters these days
11:18
They're releasing their own brands. They're doing their own picks. They're, you know, having more influence than just talking about whiskey
11:25
They're actually either making it or blending it or picking it. They really are having a hands-on impact in the world of whiskey and whiskey culture as we know it, especially American whiskey
11:35
Of course, Scotch, you know, and Irish whiskey and Canadian whiskey, they're all going to be affected by the tariff situation
11:41
It's something that I'm very aware of, but I don't really think I have any influence on
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So I don't talk about it too much because I don't think we're at a point where that's going to be up to the people
11:53
I think that's very much up to whoever feels that they have the power to do that
11:58
I'll just leave it at that. But I talking about the American whiskey the bourbon market the rye whiskey market I think it going to be a promising year in 2026 And my fingers are crossed that other markets will be just as promising in terms of availability
12:12
and price. We'll see. We'll see what happens. Like I said, I did a bunch of rambling this
12:17
week's episode, a little bit different than normal. But of course, we are still in for our
12:22
bite-sized review. Today we have a really interesting whiskey to review because it looks like a bottle that people get very, very excited for
12:41
Of course, I'm talking about the new Willett Family Estate Small Batch Bourbon that's been aged for four years and bottled at cast strength
12:51
Now, Willett is a brand that has a lot of opinions about it
12:55
So, of course, the Will It Pot Still bourbon, which is, you know, their lower end bourbon, gets a lot of flack for being one of the most overpriced bourbons in the industry
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Now, Will It Rye Whiskey, on the other hand, is a four-year-old product that some people really enjoy
13:11
And, of course, on the far, far end of the spectrum, Will It has had some purple top bourbon whiskey releases
13:18
aged from 4, 9, 12, all the way up to I think 14 and 15 years old, where they've been sourcing from
13:26
different distilleries to release a hyper-aged product with a very hefty price tag. Now, Willit
13:35
has actually been distilling their own distillate for a while now, and we're starting to see that
13:40
pop up in those purple top releases. Some people have very good feelings about it, while others
13:46
feel like it doesn't quite stand up to the Will It Purple Tops of years prior. Well today we have a
13:54
brand new product in the Will It lineup that I'm actually pretty excited for. So this is the new
14:01
Purple Top. Yes I say Purple Top because there's purple tin foil on the top. It is a four-year-old
14:07
small batch bourbon whiskey. Like I said bottled at cast strength 125 proof and yeah this is their
14:14
own distillate. But what makes this even more special is it's not a rare release. This is
14:21
actually going to be a core product in their lineup moving forward. So I picked this up from
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my local spirit store for $70, which is relatively high for a four-year-old bourbon. But with it
14:34
carrying the Willett family estate name, I had certain expectations based on that. Now, full
14:40
disclosure, I'm not a big fan of Will It Rye Whiskey. I think their rye whiskey has a very
14:45
distinct flavor profile that just doesn't vibe with my palate. I couldn't tell you what it is
14:50
but every time I've had Will It Rye, I've been disappointed by it. Will It Bourbon, on the other
14:55
hand, my only experience with it has been some of the super high-end bottles where it goes for
15:00
three, four hundred dollars. And while I thought it was pretty darn good, I didn't think it was a
15:07
$300 to $400 good. So that's why I'm very excited for a chance to try Will It Bourbon at the $70
15:14
price point. I hesitate a little bit because $70 is a bit much, but for a new product, you know I
15:19
had to pick it up for you guys. Again, shout out to the Bite Club for making this possible. Let's go
15:24
ahead and get this poured. Now I will admit I did do a little bit of investigating for other people's
15:30
opinions on this bottle before I decided to review it. I did hear a few mixed opinions on
15:36
this release in particular one of which comes from another incredible whiskey tuber drums and
15:43
drams cameron he had a hot take on this one and i think his was more of an issue with will it in
15:49
general with their overpricing of their products and i think that's a totally valid point i have
15:54
less personal experience with that like i haven't really bought any of their high-end offerings
15:58
but i do think it's a valid perspective so if you are someone that has those feelings towards will
16:03
it check out his video he did a review of this particular bottle and uh yeah he he had some
16:09
pretty strong opinions but you know what I I commend him for it I also share my honest thoughts
16:14
on these podcasts so I would never shame someone for their honest opinion but I'm not going to be
16:20
influenced by it is what I'll say because I have seen people on reddit that are very excited to get
16:24
their hands on this release you know being the first chance to buy a will it bourbon especially
16:30
in the family estate line with the purple top uh presentation at a affordable price part of the
16:36
dilemma is the fact that they're using the same bottlings for this as their bottles for their like
16:41
like i said 12 14 15 year old family estate bourbons which sometimes are sourced sometimes
16:46
they're their own distillate but those are going for hundreds and hundreds of dollars so i could
16:50
see why someone feels like something like this might cheapen the lineup or the brand but again
16:56
I'm not someone that does buy those Willets for that price, so I'm not as impacted by that
17:02
but it's a valid opinion. I'm excited. I hope you are too. First off, we're going to give it a nose
17:08
Ooh, nice, nice. Quite a bit of cinnamon. That is like cinnamon just coming off of it. Almost
17:14
reminds me of a cinnamon brushed dessert, you know, like where the cinnamon sugar is kind of
17:19
just sitting on the top. Very sweet on the nose as well. There's a bright quality to it, and I
17:24
can't tell if it's quite citrus or if it's more of just like a bright sugary candy note. I'm going
17:30
to have to go a little bit deeper on the nose to find out what's going on there. And as I try to do
17:35
so, the ethanol shows itself. Like I said, this is cast strength. It's bottled at 125 proof. You are
17:42
getting quite a bit of that ethanol on the nose, but that's not to be unexpected with something
17:47
that's this high proof and relatively young in the world of bourbon. I think that's, you know
17:52
just to be expected. Honestly, like all things considered, I think this is a great nose. It's not
17:57
complex. It's not, you know, taking me on a journey like some whiskeys do. It's very straightforward
18:03
but it a nose that I like There not much oak There a lot of cinnamon and there just a good backbone of a vanilla sweet spirit So I going to go ahead and give it a taste Because the nose you know while not overwhelming or super interesting
18:19
it does have my mouth watering. So I'm going to go for a taste
18:23
Cheers. Mmm. Oh, wow. Sweet. Wow. Super sweet. I guess that's to be expected, right
18:30
It's a four-year-old bourbon, which is relatively young in terms of bourbon
18:34
has a lot of that corn sweetness from it but I don't think it necessarily tastes grainy like it
18:40
doesn't taste like an overly corny bourbon. By the way mash bill in this is two different mash
18:46
bills actually they combine for this. 70% of it is a 52% corn, 38% rye, and 10% barley mash bill
18:54
while 30% of it is a 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% barley mash bill. I will say that high rye mash
19:04
is definitely making an appearance, but I don't think it tastes like a Will It Rye whiskey. And
19:11
for me, who's not a fan of that, that's just a compliment to this bourbon. I would say flavor
19:17
you know, the more you sip on it, it does kind of go a little bit one note. It does feel a bit
19:22
light, a little bit like a cinnamon sugar kind of bomb. Finish wise, not that long. Let's be real
19:28
It's not like the longest finish I've had on a bourbon, especially that proof at 125 proof
19:33
it kind of just sits on the tongue it kind of just stays as it is and doesn't really take you on a
19:39
mouthfeel or you know throating journey throating journey wow that's i'm not gonna use that term
19:46
ever again please don't let me i will say even though it's one note is a pleasant note it's a
19:50
sweeter a little bit of spicy again none of the wood or oak or anything you would expect from a
19:57
bourbon it's it's that unique it's almost like a i don't want to say this but it kind of reminds me
20:02
of like a Canadian whiskey or something that doesn't have as much of an oak influence as a
20:06
bourbon does, you know, you're really not getting that influence of the white oak barrels, which they
20:11
put on their label, hand selected white oak barrels. You're not getting much influence from
20:16
that. You're just getting a very sweet, very corn forward and rye forward distillate. I think it is
20:23
a testament for a good distillate. I mean, don't get me wrong. I think that what's in this bottle
20:29
tastes good and I can't wait to see what something like this would taste at a higher age and that's
20:36
the problem right because will it you know based on their history if they age this even just three
20:41
years longer it's going to be a lot more expensive of a product I think this would you know do much
20:47
better at a six to nine year age statement but they maybe shouldn't be using the same bottle
20:51
they're using for their high-end bourbon I think some people are going to be confused I think some
20:56
store owners are going to take advantage of that confusion and price this bottle up there way beyond
21:01
the MSRP for it. I can just see that happening. Unfortunately, that's the way this industry works
21:06
People are taken advantage of all the time. But I don't want that to diminish the fact that this
21:10
bourbon is good. I just think it needs a little more age on it to really develop the flavor profile
21:16
that people love and expect from the Willett lineup. And if they don't want it to, that's fine
21:20
but I think the $70 price point needs to come down quite a bit to justify this, you know, what I consider good bourbon
21:29
So when I give my review, I consider all things from nose, palette, finish, price, availability, everything all wrapped up into one
21:37
With this being a currently $70 bottle, it's relatively available. I think people are buying it because it's new and people see, you know, Will It Purple Top, gotta buy it
21:46
overall I think this is a fine bourbon and I think fine is where I'm going to leave my review with it
21:52
I'm going to give it a score of six out of ten I think this is better than average I think what
21:58
they're working with here is really great distillate I think it's promising but the reason
22:05
it has a six out of ten is I think it is quite a bit overpriced I think if you are a fan of the
22:11
Will it line up and you like their mash bill? Give it a try
22:16
But if you're used to some of their higher end offerings from, like I said, the 9, 10, 12 year old releases, this isn't going to be up to part with that
22:23
And it shouldn't be, you know, being under $100. But I even feel like this, you're kind of giving into the hype a little bit by paying $70 for it
22:31
I think that if this was like a $50 bottle, this would probably get quite a bit higher of a score from me
22:37
Not too much higher. I don't want to start throwing out numbers and stuff, but I think at $70, it's a solid 6 out of 10
22:45
Good bourbon, good base. I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm a fan of the flavor profile, more so than I thought I would be because I don't like their rye
22:54
So we're actually pretty happy that I like their bourbon. For being someone that's not really into Will It, I think this is a solid addition to the lineup
23:01
Could just be a little bit cheaper is all I have to say about that. Let me know what you think
23:05
You can join our discord server again, bourbonbites.com. There's a link to it there
23:10
I want to know what you guys think about this one. Have you tried it yet? Are you looking forward to trying it
23:15
Or are you going to give it a pass because of the reputation? I'm very curious to hear what you guys have to say about it
23:21
All right. Well, with that, that wraps up this week's episode. Again, this is the last episode of 2025
23:27
Thank you all so much for the support, whether you're listening, liking on your favorite podcast
23:31
platform or leaving a review and following. it all makes a huge difference but most of all i'm just glad you guys are here thank you so much
23:41
for listening hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year here's to 2026
23:48
may it be fruitful and delicious cheers this has been bourbon bites i'll see you guys next year
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