Willett Distillery

By Velier

Together with Michter's, Willett is one of the two distilleries recognised as the best whisky producers in America. Willett was introduced to us by our importer Nicolas Palazzi from New York, and it is of course an honour for us to have both distilleries, namely both Michter's and Willett, on our team;

Overview

History

The Willett distillery is internationally recognised, along with Michter's, as one of the best whiskey producers in the United States.

Its history began in 1936 thanks to Thompson Willett, who started work three years after the end of Prohibition, on the grounds of his family farm on the outskirts of Bardstown in Kentucky. Construction was completed a year later, and the first batch of Kentucky Bourbon Whisky was produced on 17 March 1937, not surprisingly on St Patrick's Day.

The distillery warehouses, with a capacity of 4000/5000 barrels, were built on the highest land in the county in order to attract the breeze that would favour the maturation of the bourbon.

Old Bardstown Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, launched in the 1940s, was awarded in 1964, the same year that the US Congress named Bourbon America's Native Spirit. Thompson Willett's legacy passed to his daughter Martha Harriet Willett, who in 1972 married Even G. Kulsveen, who then took over the company in 1984, running it together with his wife and son Drew - who is also Master Distiller. The distillery was completely renovated in 2012.

Production method

The raw materials used for the production of Willett bourbon are maize, rye and barley. Fermentation takes place in 7 washbacks. Distillation is in 4500 litre pot stills and column stills. The casks used are virgin American oak - charred for Noah's Mill and Rowan's Creek. Production is in small batches.