cowdery Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Which explains why they are the only barrelhouses in Kentucky that are standing empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 Between our local humint assets and your technology, KBD won't put anything past us. Ahemmmmm...Let me clear my throat abit...Ahemmmmmm.... <font color="blue"> (jobettye holler's out the front door) </font> <font color="red"> "NEXT" </font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Jim, Pretty cool! Ya'll crack me up. clearly a mid-seventies Chevrolet stepside pickup. Most of the other vehicles appear to be 60's or early 70's. Thing is, you gotta remember ... this is Kentucky Honey. That shot could have been taken yesterday. Seriously, we do tend to drive the very last ounce of life out of a pickup truck. Bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbutler Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 That shot could have been taken yesterday. That part I'm real clear on Brenda My point is only that the picture can't be older than say, 1973. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I asked some friends questions about this place and the folks who run it. Even (pronounced Evan), is orignianly from Norway. He married Martha Willett, the oldest child of this distilling family. Martha works with Evan at the site. Her father retired around 1980. I could not get a exact year when those two entered this venture. I know it was more than 12 years ago. I know a girl, that worked for them, helping to bottle product. They did tell me that "On the inside, there has been great improvements" on the small bottling line, (back then)... Bettye Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Here are couple of links with references to Even Kulsveen (Norway, maybe, and not Scotland?) -- one starring our own Brendaj: Ellenjaye On the KBD Trail Known even in the UK The KY Secretary of State lists KBD's registration in 1990, and Martha Willetts Kulsveen as the sole officer. Interesting to note that office lists Kulsveen/KBD as the name-holder for Michter's. Didn't know that!: Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. SOS registration page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 They were well underway when I met them in 1991-92. They were still bottling Willett whiskey then and only for export, mostly to Japan. Decanters and other fancy packages were a big part of their business.I seem to recall him saying (and his accent bore it out) that he was from Norway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 My point is only that the picture can't be older than say, 1973. If I may, the model year changes in September so we could be back to September of 1972 with that truck, unless it was a prototype............ Where better to test them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Since Willett may have been making alcohol for fuel at that point, maybe they were all prototypes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Hey Bobby, This is too funny... unless it was a prototype............ Where better to test them? Actually, the guy I was dating (30 yr. Ford employee) is on some sort of 'new model team'. He was working on the 2006/2007's, and said they used to get to drive them home (only management is doing it now). He said they would put a big 'bra' on it, so you couldn't see the front... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Tim, one starring our own Brendaj The color of my nose makes one think that I'm running in from the bottling house, after too much sampling That was a fun little adventure... This trip took place after I went 'up the hill' alone one day taking pictures. I wandered into what I now know to be the bottling area. I yelled, but no one around. Yelled some more...no one. So I wandered into the next area, and there sat cases of Sam Houston...a large door and a fork truck with the keys in it... whoo, that was a hard one I had a page running a couple of years ago, I'll try and dig it up. Bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedmans Brorsa Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 I have a bottle of "Vintage bourbon 1976" at home. It was ordered from The Whisky Exchange just outside of London, U.K. (www.thewhiskyexchange.com). On their home page they claim that they ship to the U.S. I know zilch about customs regulations to the state of New York but it should be noted that my home country, Sweden, has a reputation for zealous customs officials and I´ve never encountered any problems. They usually write something like "Collector´s items" on that green declaration sticker.As for the contents of the bottle originating from the Willett distillery, I really couldn´t say as I have nothing to compare it to. There seems to be a reasonable amount of old HH whiskey around so I see no reason why these bottlings could hail from them as well as (I guess) most of their other brands.The best do to would probably be to taste it side by side with the 23 year-old EW. I am not too keen on older bourbons so that comparison will probably not be made by me. I only invested in VB -76 because Jim Murray described it as an unusually lively bourbon for its age.As for the whiskey itself : I´ve only had two tastings but it is an extremely fruity bourbon. The nose, though, is almost stone dead - not surprisingly, considering its age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Yeah, I've seen it there and heard of that place but their prices are unfortunately very high and the shipping to the US is VERY high... Even getting a case of 12 bottles to save on shipping, it still comes out to more than $16 per bottle. Maybe someday I'll breakdown... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 To clarify the things that have been posted about our company, I will tell you everything. I am Even's son Drew. I designed the website, very basic indeed but it serves the purpose. We are going through major rennovations at our plant. We have completely gutted our distillery and will be producing again later this fall. As for the pot distillation process, everyone uses one. But our pot still has a specially designed Corcorhan film tray section that purifies it even more. As for our current stock, we are having it made under contract using our formulas that have been dating back to the Willett days. We are having a new copper pot still that is being made at the moment and will be delivered to us toward the end of this month. This will be independent from our standard distillation process. As for production we will begin producing sometime in Sept./Nov. We plan to mash about 200 Bushels a day. If anyone has any questions feel free to send me an email or a private message. Oh, and as for the picture, it's all I had. We are going to reshoot another picture upon completion. And for those of you that mentioned HH, they used to bottle our Old Bardstown for KY, but we bottle it now. And one more thing, our warehouses are not empty which many of you may have believed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 First of all, welcome to the site Drew. It is great to have someone else from the industry come aboard. I'm sure in the coming days you'll have a slew of questions asked of you! I can't wait to see the possible new products that await us once the new still is completed... Thanks for the information and again welcome to StraightBourbon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Thanks for joining us Drew. That the Willetts mashbill is in production and that soon the smell of Sour Mash will be in the air is fantastic news. Do standard size barrels fit your warehouse or do you have a custom size made? Again, Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Drew, I certainly don't have the long-standing SB.com credentials as either Mark or Bobby, but let me too add a warm welcome. As you look around this forum, you'll see that we are interested in all things bourbon, and that includes Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. Thus, in the absence of facts or knowledge, we speculate on the basis of the (considerable) facts and knowledge of other members of these boards. But, we'd rather have 'straight-from-the-horse's-mouth' facts. Our interest in your company has long been, and will continue to be, keen. Please continue to pepper us with facts (and many thanks for those already offered). You're with 'kin'-folk here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 We have always used the standard 53 WG barrels. We do have mini barrels but they are not used for aging. We ship the mini barrels to Japan for bar displays and these barrels carry Willett Bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 We do have mini barrels but they are not used for aging. We ship the mini barrels to Japan for bar displays and these barrels carry Willett Bourbon. How much to get one shipped to someone in SI, NY? Oh wait, I will be in KY this September... Seriously though, my friend has one of those mini barrels actually and it is a very nice addition to a collection. It's not one from you guys, but rather an empty he got during the festival some years back. The inside is still charred though... I keep telling him we need to age some stuff in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 Thanks for the information and may God bless your noble endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Hi Drew, First, let me say welcome, welcome! We have pondered the happenings on your hill for several years... And one more thing, our warehouses are not empty which many of you may have believed. I'm sorry, that misinformation came from me (well, actually my son, he worked there several years ago.) I apologize.I'm tickled to hear about the renovation of the distillery. Do you think there's a chance I could stop by, maybe shoot a photo or two for the folks here to see the progress? Again, welcome to forum, Bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 And for those of you that mentioned HH, they used to bottle our Old Bardstown for KY, but we bottle it now. Hmmmmmm...a little clarification here. You specifically quote, they used to bottle "OUR" Old Bardstown. With that statement, you leave the impression that the bourbon inside the bottle was Willett bourbon? Bettye Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 What I meant by "our" Old Bardstown was that we own the rights to the brand, and Heaven Hill bottled it for us in KY because of a contract that we made with KY Wine & Spirits, which at the time my great uncle own who sold it to Vertner-Smith. And now the contract is void, so we will be bottling Old Bardstown for KY and the rest of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 Bettye Jo... My mother Martha is the second oldest. My aunt Mary is the oldest in the family. FYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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