Review #788 - Johnny Drum Private Stock
Johnny Drum is a brand produced by the Willett distillery; this brand goes back to the 1960s, and the current owners have kept a 'retro' look for the label and bottle to show that heritage. These days, all of the bourbon is distilled at Willett, and it's a combination of two different mashbills:
65% bourbon with a mashbill of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley
35% bourbon with a mashbill of 52% corn, 38% rye, and 10% malted barley
After aging for an undisclosed amount of time, they bottle this 'private stock' at a strength of 50.5% ABV (101 proof). Based on the proportions of the bourbons included, the overall derived mashbill of this whisky is roughly 65% corn, 22% rye, and 13% malted barley, making it a somewhat 'high-rye' bourbon - we'll be on the lookout for some spicy flavors, then.
Johnny Drum Private Stock
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 44 (2026)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 50.5% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 14 months; bottles at 50% and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Soft red fruit of strawberry or cranberry, some sharp orange peel, and a bit of mellow oak and brown sugar. It's nicely rounded and subtle overall; time brings oatmeal and more spice like fennel.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. More spicy on the palate - wood spice, but also rye influence like licorice, earthy flavors, lightly herbal. It's dusty and just slightly medicinal, and we get more orange peel and a bit of grain.
Finish: Cinnamon and orange, anise, fennel - the rye is showing a lot more now. Clove and some youthful spirit notes linger, but we also get sweetness from brown sugar, as well as a bit of leathery oak. Black pepper appears in the aftertaste; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: A little youthful, but actually an interesting and pleasant bourbon overall. Each time we tasted it, we got subtle red fruit notes in the nose, but the palate and finish are much more focused on the rye grain influence with those fennel or licorice notes. It's a bit like a dusty bourbon at times, some old school character, but also quite soft and rounded overall. Decent bourbon - one we would happily go back to.
Value here is good, as the price is quite reasonable at $40 to $45. This isn't the most mature bourbon in its price segment, but we do think it's one of the more interesting bottles you can buy for that sort of money.
Our Rating: 6.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.08
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
