BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Willett Distillery is giving one of its most recognizable bourbons a higher-proof treatment with the introduction of Willett Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength, a new full-proof expression scheduled for release twice a year.
The Bardstown distillery said the new bourbon will debut nationally at a suggested retail price of $67, with future releases planned around the spring and fall equinoxes.
Willett Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength takes the distillery’s wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and bottles it at its natural cask strength rather than proofing it down before bottling. Because the whiskey will be released at barrel strength, the final proof will vary by batch and will be listed on each bottle.
The bourbon is produced from a mash bill of 65% corn, 20% wheat and 15% barley and enters the barrel at 115 proof.
While the whiskey inside is getting a more robust presentation, Willett is retaining the distinctive pot still-shaped bottle that has made Pot Still Reserve easily identifiable on whiskey shelves and back bars.
The bottle was conceived by the late Even Kulsveen and is an exact replica of Willett’s patented pot still built by Louisville-based Vendome Copper & Brass Works. The design has become closely associated with the Willett brand and connects the bourbon to the distillery’s equipment and family history.
“The Pot Still bottle is part of Willett’s identity, and it carries the vision of Even Kulsveen every time it is placed on a shelf or poured at a bar,” Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen said. “Releasing this bourbon at cask strength gives whiskey drinkers a new way to experience the wheated mash bill — full proof, full bodied and presented in a bottle that means so much to our family.”
Willett plans to release the cask-strength bourbon semiannually, corresponding with the spring and fall equinoxes. The schedule gives the distillery two recurring releases each year rather than positioning the expression as a one-time limited edition.
The release expands a Willett portfolio closely associated with Kentucky bourbon and rye whiskey. The family-owned distillery traces its roots to 1936, when Thompson Willett and his family established the distillery on the family farm in Bardstown.
The Kulsveen family purchased the property in the 1980s and later restored whiskey production at Willett. Today, the distillery remains family owned and operated in Bardstown, with its portfolio including Willett Family Estate Bottled Bourbon and Rye, Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek, Johnny Drum and Kentucky Vintage.
The new Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength gives consumers a higher-proof alternative to the familiar Pot Still Reserve while maintaining the bottle design that has become one of Willett’s most distinctive visual signatures.
Willett Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength will be available nationally beginning at $67, with the proof identified individually for each batch. For more information, visit willettdistillery.com.
About Willett Distillery
Established in 1936, three short years after prohibition, the Willett family chose the original family hog farm, situated at one of the highest point in Nelson County, Kentucky, to begin construction on the Willett Distillery. By St Patrick’s Day 1937, the first barrel of whiskey was rolled into Warehouse A. Approaching 90 years, Willett continues to make fine Kentucky Bourbon and Kentucky Rye Whiskeys. And remains independent and, truly, family-owned and -operated, honoring Even and Martha Kulsveen’s memories.
