Willett Distillery

The company was founded as the Willett Distilling Company in 1936.[1]

John David Willett (born in 1841) had been the master distiller for the Moore, Willett & Frenke Distillery, which he had formed with his brother-in-law Thomas S. Moore of Bardstown, and a Mr. Frenke of Louisville. In 1876, Willett fell ill and sold his interest in the company.[16][17] The resulting company became the Mattingly Moore Distillery. However, John David Willett lived for another 38 years after this transaction and died in 1914. The Mattingly Moore Distillery became an important part in the history of other significant bourbon brands, such as the Tom Moore bourbon brand and other brands of the Barton Brands distillery (sometimes known as the Tom Moore distillery).

Starting at the age of 15 with a five-year stint at the Mattingly Moore Distillery, his son, A. Lambert Willett (born in 1883) picked up his father's profession.[16] Lambert Willett then worked for the Max Selliger & Co. Distillery for twenty years – eventually becoming one-third owner and superintendent of the plant.[16] A. L. "Thompson" Willett, Lambert's son (born in 1909), also joined him at the plant as assistant superintendent. Lambert Willett later purchased a farm and, together with his sons and especially led by Thompson Willett, founded the Willett Distilling Company on the site. Thompson and Lambert Willett used John David Willett's bourbon recipes as the basis of the whiskey that they would distill there and brand as Old Bardstown.

The construction of the Willett Distilling Company began in the spring of 1936 (soon after the 1933 repeal of alcohol prohibition in the United States), and the company produced its first batch of 300 bushels (about 30 barrels) on March 17, 1937.[1] Five years after founding the Willett Distilling Company, Lambert Willett left Max Selliger & Co. to pursue the family business full-time.[18] Lambert Willett and at least four of his sons held substantial positions of responsibility at the company. Lambert Willett died in 1970.

A. L. "Thompson" Willett, the son of Lambert Willett, was the president of the company until 1984. At one time, he was also the president of the Kentucky Distillers Association, and he also held a number of other positions of prominence in the community. He was a member of the Nelson County Historical Society, where his interests included the early history of whiskey-making in Kentucky.[19] Thompson Willett's legal name was actually the same as his fathers, but he became known as "Thompson", using the maiden surname of his mother (née Mary Catherine Thompson) to distinguish him from his father.

Thompson Willett's daughter Martha Harriet Willett and some other members of her generation of the family worked for the company as well, and in 1972 she married Even (pronounced Evan) G. Kulsveen, formerly of Hamar, Norway, who had emigrated to the United States at the age of 14 and had been a merchant marine, chef, and glass decanter craftsman.[20]

During the 1970s energy crisis, the company switched from producing whiskey to producing ethanol for gasohol fuel.[18] This strategy soon failed when fuel prices returned to lower levels, and the distilling facilities were completely shut down in the early 1980s.[18]

Kulsveen and his wife purchased the company and the property on July 1, 1984, and renamed the company to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), Ltd., registered distillery number DSP-KY-78.[17][20] For some time, KBD continued to produce bourbon from the aging barrels that the Willett distillery had produced before they had stopped distilling. KBD then increasingly began to purchase its bourbon from other distilleries and operate as an independent bottling company, and restocked its barrel aging facilities with purchased barrels. The next generation of the family, particularly their son E. A. "Drew" Kulsveen and his wife Janelle,[2] their daughter K. M.-B. "Britt" Chavanne and her husband Hunter Chavanne, have since taken over the primary roles at the company.[8][14][21] Drew Kulsveen is the current Master Distiller and manages production,[15] Janelle Kulsveen runs the gift shop and tasting room, Britt Chavanne runs day-to-day operations, and Hunter Chavanne covers sales and marketing.[2][13]

After dropping out of the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA) for decades, the company rejoined in October 2012.[2][22] Also in October 2012, the KDA announced that it would expand its Kentucky Bourbon Trail program to include a new "Craft Tour" of seven artisan distilleries, including the Willett Distillery.[23][24] In December, 2015, it was announced that the Willett distillery was promoted to a higher class of membership in the Distillers' Association, becoming its first member in a new class of membership called the "Proof" level.[3]

On June 14, 2018, the company announced the promotion of Kristin Martha-Britt Kulsveen to President and Chief Whiskey Officer, replacing her mother Martha Harriett Willett Kulsveen as President.[25] Even Kulsveen holds the title of Executive Director.[20]

In September 2019, the company opened an on-site bar and small-plate restaurant called The Bar at Willett.[26][27]

On September 19, 2019, Even Kulsveen was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame and recognized with a Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award by the KDA, who described Kulsveen as "a beloved icon who patiently resurrected one of the state's most historic distilleries and returned the family-owned brand to global prominence".[20]

In October 2021, the company partnered with rock band Kings of Leon, releasing a limited edition Bourbon and rye whiskey collection.[28][29][30]

In December 2022, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that KBD would invest nearly $93 million to build warehouses and other production facilities and create 35 new jobs in Springfield, Kentucky.[31][32][28]

The brands owned and marketed by KBD include the following:

• General market brands:
  • Johnny Drum[21] bourbon
    • Green label 40-43% abv,
    • Private Stock label 50.5% abv, (No age statement)
  • Old Bardstown bourbon
    • Black label 43% abv, No age statement;
    • Gold label 40% abv, No age statement;
    • Estate Bottled label 50.5% abv, No age statement – the original Willett Distillery brand, first batch distilled 1937
    • Bottled In Bond 50% abv, No age statement although it is at least four years old as which is true with all spirits that are classified as being Bottled in bond
  • Vintage bourbon and rye (47% abv, various ages including 17, 21, and 23 years)
• Single barrel brands:
  • Willett Family Estate[21][33] bourbon and rye[34] (barrel proof, varying abv and aging, limited distribution)
• Small batch (at most 12 barrels[7] per batch) collection:[9]
  • Willett Pot Still Reserve[33] bourbon (47% abv, No age statement, formerly a single-barrel brand) – introduced 2008; bottled in a decorative decanter that received a double gold award for packaging design at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.[35]
    (Although the product has the term pot still in its name, it has been reported that part of the distillation process for the product was performed using the more common column still distillation method—with a pot still used only for the doubler stage.)
  • Kentucky Vintage bourbon (45% abv, No age statement)
  • Noah's Mill bourbon (57.15% abv, No age statement)
  • Pure Kentucky XO bourbon (53.5% abv, No age statement)
  • Rowan's Creek bourbon (50.05% abv, No age statement)[36] – This is KBD's best-selling brand, available in 27 states as of October 2011.[7]
• Limited availability brands:
  • Corner Creek bourbon[5][8][37][38] (44.3% abv, No age statement)
  • Kentucky Pride bourbon[5][8][37] (45% abv, No age statement)
• Contract Brands: KBD also bottles and ages a number of brands under contract, including the bottling for such brands as:
  • Black Maple Hill small batch bourbon and rye (46.6% abv, 14 year aging, for CVI Brands)[5][37][39][40][41]
  • Classic Cask small batch bourbon and rye (17-21 year aging, for Spirit Imports)[5][9]
  • Conecuh Ridge small batch whiskey "distilled from bourbon mash"[42] (45% abv, approximately 4 year aging, for Spirits Acquisition Corp.) – Note that under U.S. regulations a whiskey "distilled from bourbon mash" is similar to a bourbon, but is aged in used oak barrels rather than in new ones.
  • Michter's small batch and single barrel bourbon, rye, and bourbon-like unblended American whiskey
    (various abv and ages, for Chatham Imports)[5][37][39][43]
  • Old Pogue small batch bourbon (45.5% abv, 9 year aging, for the Pogue family)[44][45]

The company also occasionally releases various limited-edition special bottlings (often bottled under variations of the Willett brand name) for individual distributors.[33][46][47] In 2014, it released the first of a planned series of "exploratory cask finish" (XCF) special releases, an American rye finished in Curaçao casks from France (51.7% abv, 7 year aging).[48]

Many of the company's brands have received awards at the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition.[49] These include Willett Pot Still Reserve (gold medal and double gold medal for packaging, 2009), Old Bardstown Gold, Black and Estate Bottled labels (each receiving a silver medal in 2012), Johnny Drum Private Stock (double gold medal, 2010), Johnny Drum Green and Black labels (each receiving a silver medal in 2012), Kentucky Vintage (double gold medal, 2005, silver medal, 2012), Noah's Mill (gold medal, 2005; double gold medal, 2011), Pure Kentucky XO (double gold medal, 2005, silver medal, 2012), and Rowan's Creek (gold medal, 2005; gold medal, 2011).

The Beverage Testing Institute rated Corner Creek bourbon at 92 in a 2010 tasting and Black Maple Hill rye at 95 in a 2008 tasting.[50] Both of these ratings are in the range of 90–95, which the Institute refers to as "exceptional".

Malt Advocate Magazine rated Willett Family Reserve 22-year-old rye at 96 "a classic" (Vol. 18, #1), Willett Family Reserve 25-year-old bourbon at 95 "a classic" (Vol. 18, #1), Willett Family Reserve 23-year-old rye at 94 "outstanding" (Vol. 17, #2), Vintage 17-year-old bourbon at 92 "outstanding" (Vol. 15, #2), Rowan's Creek 12-year-old bourbon at 92 "outstanding" (Vol. 14, #2), Vintage 21-year-old rye at 91 "outstanding" (Vol. 15, #4), and Willett Pot Still Reserve at 90 "outstanding" (Vol. 17, #2).[51]

In the 2011 edition of the Whisky Bible by Jim Murray, a Willett Aged 17 Years Barrel Proof was named a "World Whisky of the Year" (10–17 Years Single Barrel).[52]

• Independent bottlers
• Single barrel whiskey
• Small batch whiskey
• List of historic whisky distilleries

• Official website