A.L. Thompson Willett
“The Original Willett Distillery President”
Born January 27, 1909 in Bardstown, Kentucky to Aloysius Lambert and Mary Catherine (Thompson) Willett. Thompson’s father was already well established in the bourbon distilling industry as Thompson grew up. Thompson received his education at St. Joseph Preparatory School and eventually graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 1931 from Xavier University.
He became the editor for the Loveland Herald in Ohio upon his graduation, a job he would hold from 1931-1932. From there Thompson moved on to become the Comptroller for the Kentucky Highway Department from 1932-1933. Neither of these seemed to be his life’s calling and in 1933 at the age of 25 he moved to the Bernheim Distilling Company in Louisville, where his father worked, to become their Assistant Superintendent. Thompson would stay on to hold this position until 1936 when at the age of 27, with his father and brother Johnny, moved to the family farm they had purchased and opened the Willett Distillery in Bardstown, KY.
In 1936 Thompson became the President of the Willett Distilling Company. He would hold this position until 1982. Using the bourbon recipe of his grandfather John David Willett, they produced their first batch of 30 barrels on March 17, 1937, St. Patrick's Day. Thompson and his family made Old Bardstown the flagship brand, selling it for $4.89 per fifth in 1955. “Named after a racehorse, not the town, Old Bardstown became one of the original cult Bourbon brands of the 20th Century, being mentioned in Betrayed by F Scott Fitzgerald: '...I had spent the first hour drinking Old Bardstown Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, made in Bardstown, Kentucky, 86 proof, reading the bottle labels....' And it was the inspiration for the Willett family cookbook, Old Bardstown Bourbon Cookbook.” (Minnick)
On January 14, 1942 in Fairfield, Kentucky, Thompson married Mary Virginia Sheehan, the daughter of James William Sheehan and Mary Ellen Hagan. They resided in Bardstown. They ended up having 7 children.
In the early 1960's Thompson Willett developed "Johnny Drum" Bourbon, exclusively for a wholesaler Trader Joe's in California and Wine Baron Robert Mondavi. However the writing was on the wall as the 1970’s approached. With the ever growing popularity of clear spirits, Thompson decided to end the bourbon business and moved into producing ethanol for fuel. This move did not pay off and the distillery closed operations in the early 1980’s before being purchased by his Son-in-law in 1984.
A.L. Thompson Willett died on March 19th, 2001 at the age of 92. He is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Bardstown, KY.
