Drew Kulsveen

Coming Up

At Willett Distillery, the Master Distiller’s role is tied directly to a house whose present identity depends on its dormant years. Drew Kulsveen works inside that tension, carrying a title that is simple on paper and demanding in practice. The job is not just about making spirit; it is about maintaining the line between the property’s past and its active life now.

Where They Are Now

What shapes Kulsveen’s approach is the way he handles the floor itself: with regular presence, not distance. On the property, he makes a daily point of greeting as many people as he can, and not only to talk shop. The habit is plain, but in a distillery it matters. It keeps the work tied to the people doing it, and it gives the place a rhythm that is social as well as operational. That kind of attention changes the texture of leadership. At Willett Distillery, the day is not defined only by production. It is also defined by the small, repeatable acts that hold a team together: a hello, a check-in, a few minutes spent on someone else’s family, their kids, their life outside the task at hand. Drew Kulsveen’s practice shows how a distillery can run on more than throughput; it can also run on familiarity.

Signature

Drew's signature wines include Willett Family Estate single barrel bourbon, Red Hook Rye, Doug’s Green Ink, and Rowan's Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Each name carries its own register, its own place in the broader conversation between tradition and expression, and together they sketch the contours of his work in distilled form.

In Their Words “I try to make a point every day that I'm on the property to say hi and talk to as many people as possible—not necessarily always about work, but about them, their families, their kids.” “I genuinely do it because I care about everybody there.”