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 →
In the year 1899, W.L. Weller & Sons purchased a larger storefront on the north side of Main Street between 1rst and 2nd streets from Bernheim Bros. The office and store were very close to the waterfront where barrels could... 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 →
This photograph is from the same collection as the “Big Three” photograph of Van Winkle, Farnsley and Stitzel. McGill is standing outside of the office building at Stitzel-Weller. McGill was the first Master Distiller at Stitzel-Weller. He was related to... Continue Reading →
Isaac Wolfe Bernheim created this brand of Bourbon by combining his initials with the name “Harper”. He wanted a brand with his name on it but knew that “Bernheim” was too German-Jewish to appeal to the whole market. He saw... 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 →
I keep hearing people telling me that they picked up “three bottles of Pappy” or five bottles or some other number of bottles and then find out what they have is a couple of bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle... Continue Reading →
