Willett

The Willett family distilled on their Bardstown hilltop from 1936, went quiet in the energy-crisis years, and returned triumphantly in 2012 when the Kulsveens restarted the stills. In between, as independent bottlers they built a cult with Willett Family Estate single barrels — and the pot-still-shaped decanter that became bourbon's most recognisable bottle. Small, family-run and allocation-only for its best releases, Willett is the collector's Kentucky pilgrimage.