Recent from talks
Willett Distillery
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Willett Distillery
Willett Distillery Ltd, is a private family-owned and operated company located on the outskirts of Bardstown, Kentucky, on a site that began as a farm owned by the Willett family. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years. The company was named Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) between 1984 and 2012.
The company was founded as the Willett Distilling Company in 1936. The company has remained under family ownership and operation at the same location since it was created
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 (he would recover and live another 38 years, passing in 1914).
John's son A. Lambert Willett picked up his father's profession in 1898, at the age of 15, with a five-year stint at the Mattingly Moore Distillery. Lambert Willett then worked for the Max Selliger & Co. Distillery for twenty years – eventually becoming one-third owner and superintendent of the plant.
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 Old Bardstown whiskey brand.[citation needed]
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. 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 was the president of the company until 1984. At one time, he was also the president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association and a member of the Nelson County Historical Society, where his interests included the early history of whiskey-making in Kentucky. Thompson Willett's legal name was actually the same as his father's, but he became known as "Thompson," using the maiden surname of his mother (née Mary Catherine Thompson) to distinguish himself.
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.
Hub AI
Willett Distillery AI simulator
(@Willett Distillery_simulator)
Willett Distillery
Willett Distillery Ltd, is a private family-owned and operated company located on the outskirts of Bardstown, Kentucky, on a site that began as a farm owned by the Willett family. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years. The company was named Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) between 1984 and 2012.
The company was founded as the Willett Distilling Company in 1936. The company has remained under family ownership and operation at the same location since it was created
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 (he would recover and live another 38 years, passing in 1914).
John's son A. Lambert Willett picked up his father's profession in 1898, at the age of 15, with a five-year stint at the Mattingly Moore Distillery. Lambert Willett then worked for the Max Selliger & Co. Distillery for twenty years – eventually becoming one-third owner and superintendent of the plant.
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 Old Bardstown whiskey brand.[citation needed]
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. 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 was the president of the company until 1984. At one time, he was also the president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association and a member of the Nelson County Historical Society, where his interests included the early history of whiskey-making in Kentucky. Thompson Willett's legal name was actually the same as his father's, but he became known as "Thompson," using the maiden surname of his mother (née Mary Catherine Thompson) to distinguish himself.
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.