Interview with Britt Kulsveen and Even Kulsveen, March 29, 2018

Partial Transcript: So, without further ado, I want to introduce the Kentucky Derby Museum's official bourbon authority, Mr. Fred Minnick.

Segment Synopsis: Minnick introduces Even and Britt Kulsveen and describes the significance of the interview as well as talks about the Kentucky Derby Museum Legends Series.

Keywords: Drew Kulsveen; Janelle Kulsveen; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Kentucky Derby Museum; Kentucky Derby Museum Legends Series; Martha Kulsveen; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Families.

Partial Transcript: I want to start with, with your childhood.

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen briefly discusses his childhood in Hamar, Norway. Britt Kulsveen tells a story about the 1994 Winter Olympics, which was hosted in Hamar, that she and her family attended, during which the Tonya Harding incident happened and she and her brother were interviewed by "Hard Copy" regarding the events. They also discuss Even Kulsveen's time in the Norwegian Merchant Marines, his tattoo, and his college ski career.

Keywords: 1994 Winter Olympics; Aquavit; Basements; Brothers; Chefs; Colorado; Conspiracy; Cross country skiing; Hard Copy; Ice fisherman; Kentucky; Nancy Kerrigan; Nordic combine; Norwegian Merchant Marines; Rites of passage; Sailors; Ski jumping; Skiing; Tattoos; Tonya Harding; Wife

Subjects: Childhood; Hamar (Norway); Ice fishing.; Skiing; United States of America

Partial Transcript: Now, you're, um--you grew up in Norway.

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen addresses the fact that he is not an United States citizen. He also talks about how his children work together at the distillery as president (Britt) and master distiller (Drew). Britt Kulsveen discusses why she wears boots all the time and how she received the boots that she is wearing in the interview.

Keywords: Boots; Business; Citizenship; Drew Kulsveen; Elections; Federal government; Glorified tax collectors; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Kindness; Martha Kulsveen; Presidents; Taxes; U.S. citizens; Vote; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Distilleries--Kentucky; Families.; Family businesses; Family-owned business enterprises.

Partial Transcript: You know, in--the palate is not something that--I don't know if can be really passed down.

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen discusses how he chooses the right kind of bourbon and the role that warehouse placement plays in the flavors of the bourbon. He also talks about his father-in-law, Thompson Willett, and the time he spent with him.

Keywords: Aging; Barrels; Bite; Bourbon & Beyond; Breezes; Differences; Flavors; High plateaus; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Magic; Micro-climates; Palate; Temperatures; Thompson Willett; Warehouses; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company; Wisdom

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.

Partial Transcript: Well, I think, you know, I think he'd be proud of, of the whiskey we have here today.

Segment Synopsis: Minnick introduces the Frosted Yeast Roll bourbon and Britt Kulsveen explains the background behind the name, as well as the placement in the warehouse, and the significance of the day it was distilled.

Keywords: Alice Heaton; Drew Kulsveen; Frosted Yeast Roll bourbon whiskey; Frosting; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Mash bills; May Day; Virginia Willett; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company; Willett Family Estate Bourbon “Frosted Yeast Rolls”

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Alcoholic beverages.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Families.; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Willett Distilling Company

Partial Transcript: Even, I want to now talk about, you know, the time that you got in the business.

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen tells the process of how he got involved with the alcohol industry and how he came to move to Kentucky to specialize in making bourbon.

Keywords: Attorneys; Business relationships; Colleges; Consumers; Equipment; Heublein Inc.; Kentucky; Liquors; Samples

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Distillation.; Distillers.; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: So how did, how did you all meet?

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen discusses how he met his wife, Martha, and how she didn't think that he was worth dating.

Keywords: Colonel Hawk's Restaurant; John David Willett; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Martha Kulsveen; Thompson Willett; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bardstown (Ky.); Marriage

Partial Transcript: You know, I remember, you know, in the seventies reading through, um, you know, newspapers article--newspaper articles at the time talking about the bourbon industry and how he was, uh, complaining...

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen discusses the fall of the bourbon market in the United States in the seventies as well as the rise in the market, which started in Japan.

Keywords: 80 proof; 86 proof; Barrels; Barton's QT American Whiskey; Brandy; Cognacs; Companies; Consumer interests; Consumers; Eruption; Jack Daniels; Japanese; Jim Beam; Light whiskey; Market; Marketing; Nonexistent market; Popularity; Ripple effect; Thompson Willett

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Change.; Japan.; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: When did you come out with the small batch--your small batch series?

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen discusses how foreign countries took to his small batch bourbon, which led to his family traveling a lot. Britt Kulsveen talks about taking vacations, but going to liquor stores to see the floor displays of Willett Distilling Company's bourbon in foreign countries.

Keywords: Categories; Category; Comfortable; Companies; Competitors; Customers; Distributors; Floor displays; Harrods; Jim Beam; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Overseas; Products; Russia; Small batch bourbons; Small businesses; Trust; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Business enterprises, Foreign.; Childhood; Distillers.; Travel.; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: Britt, what was, what was it like as a kid?

Segment Synopsis: Britt Kulsveen talks about what it was like growing up with a family in the bourbon business.

Keywords: Airplanes; Boots; Bottles; Bottling houses; Disney World; Drew Kulsveen; Janelle Kulsveen; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Martha Kulsveen; Master distillers; Meal worms; Money; Norway; Scout Chavanne; Social workers; Visitor centers; Visitors centers; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Childhood; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Families.; Family businesses

Partial Transcript: So, let us go to the next, uh, bourbon on your, on your, uh, map there.

Segment Synopsis: Minnick introduces the wheated bourbon and Britt and Even Kulsveen discuss the taste.

Keywords: Advice; Delicious; Drew Kulsveen; Elegant; Formulas; Gentle; Wheated bourbon

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Alcoholic beverages.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.

Partial Transcript: Well, I want to kind of go to the time when you took over Willett.

Segment Synopsis: Kulsveen discusses what kind of products he bought after buying the Willett Distilling Company back from companies that had bought it from auction. He talks about how he deals with the idea of contracts in the alcohol industry and Britt Kulsveen discusses what the distillery specializes in now.

Keywords: Age limits; Aged premium products; Batches; Bottles; Contracts; Handshakes; Income; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Markets; Mash bills; Old whiskey; Overseas; Raw whiskey; Rye; Rye whiskey; Small batch bourbons; Small batch whiskey; Thompson Willett; Verbal agreements; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Businesspeople.; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Quality of products.; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: Or as in the case with our next tasting: the rye.

Segment Synopsis: Minnick introduces the rye whiskey tasting.

Keywords: Distillates; Drew Kulsveen; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Rye whiskey; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Alcoholic beverages.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.

Partial Transcript: It occurs to me that, you know, this is--tasting this, this product, I wonder if you could, going back, dipping back into the memory banks for a moment...

Segment Synopsis: Even Kulsveen compares the bourbon they are sampling the night of the interview to the bourbon that was produced in the seventies and eighties.

Keywords: Body; Consumers; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Palate; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.

Partial Transcript: So, now, we, we take a look at--we, we talked about the eighties and a little bit of the nineties.

Segment Synopsis: Even and Britt Kulsveen discuss the fact that the Willett Distilling Company does not have accounts on social media. They also talk about the offers they have gotten for the purchase of the distillery and how they do not plan to sell.

Keywords: Advice; Boring; Business; Enthusiasm; Facebook; High West Distillery; Importers; Japanese; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Labels; Martha Kulsveen; Offers; Pappy Van Winkle; Presidents; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Businesspeople.; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Family businesses

Partial Transcript: You know we have the 80th Anniversary coming around here.

Segment Synopsis: Minnick introduces the fourth bourbon to be tasted: the Willett 80th Anniversary Bourbon.

Keywords: Bottled-in-bond; Challenges; Complexity; Jack Rose Dining Saloon; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Mash bills; Old Bardstown; Popularity; Second market; Willett 80th Anniversary Bourbon; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company; Yankees

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Alcoholic beverages.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: Well, Britt, earlier I, I asked you to tell me a, a story about, about your dad.

Segment Synopsis: Even and Britt Kulsveen answer questions presented by the audience. They discuss the Johnny Drum Private Stock Bourbon that they have, as well as their Old Bardstown Bourbon and the horse that it is named after. They also talk about mash bills, flavored whiskeys, and yeast.

Keywords: Audiences; Bill Thomas; Brands; Distributors; Drew Kulsveen; Flavored whiskeys; John Ruthven; Johnny Drum Private Stock; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Market Basket; Mash bills; Motivation; Old Bardstown; Overseas; Packaging; Painting; Purse winnings; Questions; Racehorses; Secretariat (Race horse); Thompson Willett; Warehouses; Wildlife artists; Willett 80th Anniversary Bourbon; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company; Yeast

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Family businesses; Whiskey industry

Partial Transcript: Well, I, I never like to end on a flavored whiskey note--(audience laughs)--but, uh, but, um...

Segment Synopsis: Minnick toasts the Willett Distilling Company as well as Even Kulsveen for all the great things that he and his family have accomplished.

[There is a short silence in this segment where a technical difficulty cut out the audio.]

Keywords: Adventures; Bottles; Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD); Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.; Mingling; Passion; Toasts; Willett Distillery; Willett Distilling Company

Subjects: Alcohol industry.; Bourbon whiskey; Distilleries--Kentucky; Distillers.; Families.; Family businesses