Willett Distillery
Willett is another small family owned distillery. The family has been in the bourbon business for six or seven generations but worked for others. The family opened their own distillery and paid for the renovations to this facility out of their own pocket. The visitor center is in the middle of a major renovation that includes an antebellum meeting space for weddings or conferences. It's going to look great when its completed.
Rickhouses on site
Barrels waiting for placement in the rickhouse
Copper stills
Copper still is two floors high
Corn mash in various stages of distillation.
Fermenting
A new batch is being poured. The mash needs to be maintained at a specific temperature. If it gets too hot cool water is piped in from the nearby spring and flows through those coils to cool down the mash.
All of us were encouraged to put our finger in the mash to taste it - all them. You can taste the difference in each stage. In the beginning stage it tastes like sweet corn flakes or sweet corn grits. Last stage is very rancid and bitter.
The new visitor center will also have a B & B available
The Master Distiller checking all barrels and then hammering the bung into the hole.
Each barrel weighs a lot and as the barrels are rolled across the floor they leave an imprint.
Rolling the barrel out to the rickhouse
Tasting time - I was not a fan
But as you can see, there were lots to choose from and enjoy.
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