John David Willett

“Pioneer of a Bourbon Legacy”

John David Willett, William Willett Jr.’s grandson, was born in Bardstown, Kentucky, in 1841. Having learned the distilling trade from his father and grandfather from an early age, John David was heavily involved in distilling activities. By the time John David was in his teens, the Willetts were one of the oldest distillers in Kentucky, and the family was thought of as wealthy.  Because of the family’s means, John David received a good education for the times and, alone among his siblings, inherited the family distilling properties.

When John David was 26, he managed to catch the eye of Miss Mary Alice Moore, the daughter of Charles A. and Catherine (Kate) Ann Moore. Like the Willetts, the Moores were considered wealthy Catholics who had left Maryland for the greener pastures of Kentucky.  The two had known each other from childhood.  They married in about 1874, both 33 years old.  Over the next 14 years, Mary Alice would bear John David seven children under pioneer circumstances.  All of John David’s and Mary Alice’s children lived to maturity, and several to advanced ages, which was quite unusual for that time.

In the late 1860s, John David had formed a new distilling company in Bardstown with his friend Thomas S. Moore, and a third partner from Louisville. He became the Master Distiller for the plant, which was soon named Moore, Willett & Frenke. John David also owned a second distillery at Morton’s Spring, just south of Bardstown.  Under later ownership, that distillery is reported to have had a capacity of mashing 250 bushels per day and warehousing 7,500 barrels—a behemoth for its time.

In 1876, Willett, said to be in failing health and eyesight, sold out his interest in the Moore, Willett & Franke firm to partner Tom Moore and to Ben Mattingly, who was his son-in-law.  The resulting company became the Mattingly-Moore Distillery.  Their flagship brand was “Belle of Nelson,” named for John David Willett's winning racehorse.