Johnny Drum Private Stock

They say that confession is “good for the soul”. I have to confess that this is a bottle I’ve seen on the shelf many a time, have wanted to try, and then passed on by. But no longer; today we check out a retro bourbon brand with a pretty cool story - Johnny Drum Private Stock.  

Family Through and Through   

Johnny Drum is one of the brands produced by the private, family-owned and operated Willett Distillery located on the edge of Bardstown, Kentucky. Distilling operations today are located on the farm that was once owned by the Willett family. 

Distilling operations began following Prohibition in 1936 by Lambert Willett and his son, A.L. “Thompson” Willett. Whiskey manufacturing had run in the family over the years, dating back to John David Willett who had been the Master Distiller for the Moore, Willett & Frenke Distillery in the 1870s. It was John’s bourbon recipes that became the basis of many of the Willett brands.

At one point, during the 1970s energy crisis, operations shifted from producing whiskey to producing ethanol for motor fuel. Unfortunately, this failed to be economically viable once gasoline prices returned to their original levels and distilling operations ceased in the early 1970s.

Thompson’s daughter, Martha, married Evan Kulsveen, and together purchased the property in July 1984, renaming it Kentucky Bourbon Distillers and taking on the number DSP-KY-78. Sales came originally from aging stocks of bourbon formerly produced followed by sourcing whiskey and serving as a non-producing distiller. In 2012, the distillery returned to producing its own spirits with Thompson and Martha’s son, Drew, as the Master Distiller. Other family members serve in leadership roles across the organization.

Brands produced include Old Bardstown, Willett, Willett Family Estate, Willett Pot Still Reserve, Kentucky Vintage, Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek, and Johnny Drum. Serving as a drummer boy in 1861 during the Civil War, legend has it that Drum returned to his native Kentucky where he staked claim along a beautiful spring and learned to convert surplus corn into a value-added product. 

The Tasting     

The retro-looking bottle comes with a sepia-toned label that looks straight out of the 1940s. The bourbon is a blend of two bourbon recipes that enter the barrel at 125 proof::

     65%    72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley

     35%    52% corn, 38% rye, and 10% malted barley

There is no age statement, though it is labeled as straight bourbon whiskey denoting it is at least 4-years in age. The finished product is bottled at 101 proof.

Color: Amber, with lacy and wispy evenly-spaced legs inside my Glencairn glass. 

Nose: Butterscotch, toffee, almond paste and peanut brittle.Some lighter fruit notes are also present.

Palate: Warm, with oak, spice, toffee, and almond paste, followed by dark fruits and cherry. The mouthfeel is thin, but it coats my entire tongue. 

Finish: Long, with dry oak, leather, and tobacco balances nicely with the fruit notes. 

Overall: Not bad. Would I buy it again? I think so. This had some solid and unique bourbon notes. The question really comes to value. Priced at $40, it competes in a price range putting it up against brands like Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Elijah Craig, Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, and others. Standing toe-to-toe with stalwarts like these isn’t easy. It is nice, though, to support one of the “little guys” facing a competitive market producing a solid bourbon. Cheers!