Johnny Drum Private Stock Bourbon - Caravan Wines & Spirits

Willett Distillery

Johnny Drum Private Stock Bourbon

Style Bourbon > Blend
Producer Willett Distillery
Origin Kentucky (Bardstown, Nelson County)
$130 / btl
Mixed six eligible at cart

Build a mixed six around the bottle. Free Australia-wide delivery from $250.

5 left Ships from Brisbane
Open this first

What it tastes like.

"One of those Bourbons where a single glass is never quite enough. Great stuff!" Jim Murray. 95 points.\nJohnny Drum Private Stock Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the premium offering from the Johnny Drum range. Bottled at 101 proof, this big bold bourbon is a terrific rich, mellow old-school sour mash bourbon produced in very limited quantities to a method unchanged in five generations of quality distilling. At cask strength , this is the flagship from the Johnny Drum range of handmade bourbons, produced in small batches at Willett Distillery. NAS but approximatively 8 years old.\nEYE: copper gold colour with a gold hue.\nNOSE: a touch of shellac at first, then toffee apple, mixed nuts and an enticing array of spices including clove and vanilla.\nPALATE: the attack yields concentrated flavours of dried fruits, caramel, sweet spices and sandalwood. The mouthfeel is creamy and mildly prickly at the same time, however the whisky maintains excellent balance at this strength. Finishes soft and dry with an aftertaste of vanillan oak, creme caramel and a subtle liquorice strap fade. A big, complex Bourbon experience. 

50.5% ABV

750ml

The house

About Willett Distillery.

Kentucky (Bardstown, Nelson County) ·Est. 1936 (Willett Distillery); family distilling in

Willett Distillery is a Kentucky bourbon producer in Bardstown — the de facto capital of bourbon — founded in 1936 by Thompson Willett, with the family's distilling history in Kentucky tracing back to 1792 when William Willett Jr. moved from Maryland. Brands launched include Old Bardstown Bourbon (1940s), Johnny Drum (1960s), and the Small Batch Boutique Collection of the 1990s — Rowan's Creek, Noah's Mill, Kentucky Vintage, Pure Kentucky. Current ownership: Even Kulsveen and Martha Willett Kulsveen since 1984, operating as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD).

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At the table

How to pour it.

  • Temperature

    Room temperature. No ice for the first pour — taste the spirit before diluting.

Bottle questions

Before you open it.

A few practical answers for storage, delivery, and choosing the right bottle.

How should I store it before opening?

Keep it somewhere cool, dark, and steady. Wine prefers cellar temperature; spirits are happier away from heat and direct sunlight.

How long will it keep once opened?

Wine changes quickly after opening; spirits and liqueurs generally hold longer if capped tightly and kept out of heat. If it is a special bottle, ask before opening and the team can give product-specific guidance.

Can I ask for a similar bottle?

Yes. Contact Caravan with this bottle name and the occasion; the team can suggest a close match, a safer gift, or a step up or down in price.

How is it packed for delivery?

Orders are packed in bottle-safe cartons. If anything arrives damaged or looks wrong, contact the team with your order number and a photo so they can sort the next step.

What about hot weather shipping?

The team avoids making one-size-fits-all promises around heat and carrier timing. For heat-sensitive or cellar bottles, contact Caravan before ordering and they can advise the safest dispatch window.

Need a specific answer for this bottle? The Caravan team can help with drinking windows, substitutions, and delivery timing.

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Johnny Drum Private Stock Bourbon - Caravan Wines & Spirits
Producer visit

Why Caravan backs Willett Distillery

Kentucky (Bardstown, Nelson County)

The Willett family's role in American distilling dates to 1792 — the year Kentucky became a state — when William Willett Jr. moved from Maryland to Nelson County. By the mid-nineteenth century his son John David Willett was a master distiller at four Kentucky distilleries. Thompson Willett established the Willett Distillery on the family farm in Bardstown in 1936, shortly after Prohibition's repeal. The first bourbon under the family's own brand was Old Bardstown Bourbon in the 1940s; Johnny Drum followed in the 1960s as a secondary expression.

Even Kulsveen and his wife Martha Willett Kulsveen (Thompson's daughter) acquired the property in 1984. Production was suspended for a period; the operation was renamed Kentucky Bourbon Distillers Ltd and focused on releasing the estate's existing stocks plus contracted production. In the 1990s the family launched the Small Batch Boutique Bourbon Collection under the KBD label — Rowan's Creek, Noah's Mill, Kentucky Vintage, and Pure Kentucky — independently bottled, reflecting selected stocks from across Kentucky. Estate distillation has been restored in recent years with the Willett Family Estate single-barrel releases.

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