The year 1965 saw some change at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Julian Van Winkle had passed away in February and Julian Jr. was now in charge of the company. Old Fitzgerald Prime was introduced at 86.8 proof, the first Old Fitzgerald... Continue Reading →
Bourbon distillers have a long tradition of using imagery of Southern hospitality to sell their brands. Several brands have used versions of the Kentucky Colonel, pastoral scenes with horses grazing, race tracks and other romanticized images of Kentucky in their... Continue Reading →
It seems that hardly a week goes by without someone asking me about the Stitzel-Weller Distillery under the Van Winkles and why the whiskey was so good. First of all, let it be stated that Stitzel-Weller was making whiskey just... Continue Reading →
In the 1950s Julian P. Van Winkle did a series of advertisements that were folk stories he would tell with a moral that you should drink Old Fitzgerald Bourbon. He later had a collection of these stories published as a... Continue Reading →
Old Fitzgerald is an old Brand dating back to 1870 When S.C. Herbst, a rectifier based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin registered the trademark “Jno. E. Fitzgerald”. There are many stories told as to how he created the brand but they are... Continue Reading →
Heaven Hill is a family owned distillery that opened in Bardstown, Kentucky at the end of Prohibition. The company had been found in 1935 by the five Shapira brothers who hired Joe L. Beam to be their first distiller. It... Continue Reading →
Very Special Old Fitzgerald has always been a sentimental favorite of mine. Back in my days as archivist for United Distillers, this is one of the brands I helped develop for the Bourbon Heritage Collection. The brand was sold to... Continue Reading →
