A Century of American Whiskey

Old Weller Original 107 Proof 7 Year Old 1.75 Litre 1978 / Stitzel-Weller

William Larue Weller was born into a distilling family in Kentucky in 1825, and launched his W.L. Weller brand in 1849. Originally a rectification business (creating 'whiskey' using neutral spirit, colouring and flavourings), this all changed with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 and the death of Weller two years later. The company was left in the hands of the fiercely passionate Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I who, having steered it safely through the wreckage of National Prohibition, established Old Weller alongside the newly acquired Old Fitzgerald labels and the flagship brands for the new Stitzel-Weller distillery in 1933. It was produced there for over 60 years, eventually being sold to the Sazerac Company in 1999, who distil it at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's recipe to this day.

This is a 1978 bottling of the 7 year old Original 107 Proof wheated bourbon. This was produced by United Distillers at Stitzel-Weller, although by this point it had been renamed by its previous owners after flagship brand, Old Fitzgerald.

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 15 Year Old / 1st Release

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon was bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph H. Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had dealings with Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whiskey as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

When Michter’s distillery finally closed in 1989, Hirsch was well into his nineties, and rather than engage in exigency of rehoming what no longer served its purpose to him, he instead sought to find a buyer for it. Fearing the arduous task of finding a buyer for what was considered an “over-aged” batch of whiskey, Hirsch was fortunate in that one of his old Schenley contacts called Bob Gottesman knew a man in Kentucky who was looking for exactly that, Gordon Hue.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand and subsequent partnership with the Sazerac Company in 2002 also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is one of Van Winkle's first Lawrenceburg bottlings, produced on 26th February 1990. Van Winkle's ledgers show that he was drip-fed orders for the A.H. Hirsch Reserve, and only produced limited case numbers to order when requested by Hue. This has lead to a variety of different bottlings at different ages. This is one of two bottlings of the A.H. Hirsch Reserve as 15 year old (although the second was actually 16 by the time it was bottled). This release features the label with block text, similar to the Van Winkle Special Reserve releases produced around the same time (the second has a script style label). The majority of the the bourbon was later placed into steel tanks shortly after this, in order to prevent futher ageing. Van Winkle bottled some leftover casks at advanced ages, but the majority of the A.H. Hirsch Reserve was bottled from the tanks as a 16 year old in 2003.

Gordon Hue, who had maintained exclusive distribution rights to the Hirsch product despite the Van Winkle and Sazerac connections, eventually sold the brand to Preiss Imports who moved the subsequent and final bottling (technically re-bottling) to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

A.H. Hirsch Finest Reserve 1974 20 Year Old 1990s

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph H. Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had dealings with Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whiskey as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

When Michter’s distillery finally closed in 1989, Hirsch was well into his nineties, and rather than engage in exigency of rehoming what no longer served its purpose to him, he instead sought to find a buyer for it. Fearing the arduous task of finding a buyer for what was considered an “over-aged” batch of whiskey, Hirsch was fortunate in that one of his old Schenley contacts called Bob Gottesman knew a man in Kentucky who was looking for exactly that, Gordon Hue.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand and subsequent partnership with the Sazerac Company in 2002 also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is one of Van Winkle's earlier 1990s bottlings. Van Winkle's ledgers show that he was drip-fed orders for the Hirsch Reserve, and only produced limited case numbers to order when requested by Hue. This has lead to a variety of different bottlings at different ages. This is the 20 year old red wax bottling in Van Winkle's trademark green-glass cognac-style bottles. This is the only release bottled from the spirit when it was 20 years old, and the oldest too.

Gordon Hue, who had maintained exclusive distribution rights to the Hirsch product despite the Van Winkle and Sazerac connections, eventually sold the brand to Preiss Imports who moved the subsequent and final bottling (technically re-bottling) to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Old Rip Van Winkle 1969 Very Special Stock 11 Year Old / Don Johnson

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

This was bottled in 1980 by J.P. Van Winkle & Son, the company run by Julian II and Julian III at the former's office at Stitzel-Weller. Distilled there in 1969, this was privately bottled for Don Johnson.

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

OFC 1916 Bottled in Bond Bourbon / Prohibition Era Bottling

A fantastic old Prohibition era bottling of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky. Although the Volstead Act of 1919 had banned the production and sale of alcohol throughout the US, a certain number of distilling companies were permitted to continue bottling existing stock, mostly for medicinal use, but also for weekly baking rations.

One such company was Schenley, organised in 1920 by Louis Rosenstiel as the Cincinnati Distributing Corp. It was one of just six companies granted a license by the US government to bottle medicinal whiskey, alongside Brown-Forman, Frankfort Distilleries, the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery, the American Medicinal Spirits Company, and James Thompson & Brother. In the same year, Rosenstiel acquired the Joseph S. Finch distillery in Pennsylvania, its stock and its Golden Wedding brand, which would go onto become one of the flagship labels of Schenley in the 20th century. In 1922, Rosenstiel met Winston Churchill while holidaying in France, and the future British Prime Minister advised him to begin preparing for the eventuality that the unpopular Prohibition act would be repealed. Rosenstiel then spent the next decade accruing assets in the whiskey industry and by the time his foresight finally paid off in 1933, Schenley were the owners of numerous distilleries including George T. Stagg, James E. Pepper, and the Squibb distillery in Indiana. They added the famous Bernheim distillery to the portfolio in 1937, and the year prior made their first play in the Scotch market by becoming the US distributor for John Dewar & Sons. Rosenstiel's spirits empire dominated much of the market share of American whiskey for the next forty years through brands like I.W. Harper and Cream of Kentucky, before he sold his controlling stake to the Glen Alden company in 1968. He passed away eight years later, and in 1987, Schenley was bought over by United Distillers, newly formed through a merger of the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) and Arthur Bell & Sons after both were acquired by Guinness that year.

This is the O.F.C. brand bourbon, distilled and bottled at George T. Stagg distillery, better known today as Buffalo Trace.

A historic distillery, Buffalo Trace was built in 1812 Harrison Blanton. It was then purchased by the legendary Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr in 1870, who named it OFC (Old Fashioned Copper) after which this brand was named, and invested heavily in its modernisation. So much so in fact that he declared himself bankrupt after just seven years, and George T. Stagg stepped in to rescue it, becoming its owner in 1878. He ran the distillery until his retirement in the 1890s, and it was renamed in his honour in 1904. Having survived Prohibition, it was bought up by the Schenley company in 1933, who ran it as part of their extensive portfolio for the next fifty years, eventually selling it to Age International. The latter's new Japanese ownership in 1992 had no interest in it (only in its brands), and immediately sold it to the Sazerac company, who renamed it Buffalo Trace in 1999.

Overholt 1908 Rye Whiskey Quart / Pre-Prohibition

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facilty, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey.Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to a New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsyvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

Bottled just before Prohibition, this 1908 vintage \"Overholt\" rye whiskey was apparently from the private reserve of the Mellon family, who stockpiled it for fear of running out in the wake of the Prohibition legislation banning all production and consumption in 1920.

Examples of these bottles exist with vintage ranging from the late 1900s into the early 1910s. This is a fascinating artefact from a long and storied whiskey history.

Old Kentucky Colonel 1917 Sour Mash Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Distilled in 1916, this bourbon was protected in bond by the American Medicinal Spirits Company from the Prohibition Act of 1920, which made alcohol production and consumption illegal.

This was bottled in the \"fall\" of 1923. The whiskey was produced by the Silas Rosenfeld distillery, registered number 18 in the 2nd district of Kentucky. The distillery was originally operated by W.H. Perkins and Alexander Hill, after whom this bourbon may take its name. By 1892 it was under the ownership of Aaron Rosenfeld, and in turn his son, Silas. Otto Wathen then procured the distillery and its stock at the onset of Prohibition, in order to supply stock to his American Medicinal Spirits Company.

The American Medicinal Spirits Company was one of only around 30 distilling companies to survive Prohibition of the 434 that existed prior. They were one of few to be granted a license to bottle medicinal whiskey, and were probably the most successful. AMS Co was eventually subsumed by National Distillers, who along with Schenley, Hiram Walker and Seagram's, became the \"big 4\" American whiskey companies following the eventual repeal of Prohibition. They continued to operate the Silas Rosenfeld distillery as a bottling plant until the 1970s.

This pint bottle was filled by the AMS Co at bonded warehouse number 19 in the 5th district of Kentucky, permit no. Ky P-19.

Old Overholt 1935 Bottled in Bond Rye 100 Proof Quart

The Old Overholt brand is a legend in the world of American whisky, established all the way back 1810. This bottle was distilled in 1935 at the Overholt distillery in Broad Ford, PA.

During prohibition, a company called the American Medicinal Spirits Co, run by Otto Wathen, acquired a number of distilleries and brands with which to bottle whiskey using its medicinal license. Distilling new whiskey was banned, so the American Medicinal Spirts Co used their increasing financial muscle (backed up by the reincarntion of the infamous Whiskey Trust, now called National Distillers) to consolidate much of America's whiskey. This included the acquisition of the Old Overholt brand, which they bottled using whiskey from Broad Ford and from the nearby Large distillery.

After the repeal of Prohibition, National Distillers took over the AMS Co completely, and continued to bottle the Old Overholt brand for much of the 20th century. Initially the Overholt distillery was re-opened, but was eventually shut down again in 1951. Distilling then moved to Large for the remainder of the 1950s before it too was closed down.

Old Overholt still exists today, produced alongside Old Grand-dad by Jim Beam, who acquired both of 'The Olds' from National Distillers in 1987.

This is a bottled in bond product, with a legal requirement to state both the site of distillation and bottling, and to be filled at 100 US proof, as set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.

Old Overholt 6 Year Old Straight Rye 1940

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facility, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey. Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsylvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

This is a bottle number 3177 from a unique barrel. It was distilled at Broad Ford and bottled at 122 proof in 1940.

Old Heaven Hill 28 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1991

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. This was produced at the Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and bourbon made there has become increasingly sought after as the years pass. The company had no distillery for the next three years, but were permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

This is one of a number of high-end and well-aged bourbons produced by Heaven Hill for the booming Japanese bourbon market in the 1990s.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / pre-2003 Gold Wax

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph H. Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had dealings with Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whiskey as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

When Michter’s distillery finally closed in 1989, Hirsch was well into his nineties, and rather than engage in exigency of rehoming what no longer served its purpose to him, he instead sought to find a buyer for it. Fearing the arduous task of finding a buyer for what was considered an “over-aged” batch of whiskey, Hirsch was fortunate in that one of his old Schenley contacts called Bob Gottesman knew a man in Kentucky who was looking for exactly that, Gordon Hue.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand and subsequent partnership with the Sazerac Company in 2002 also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is one of Van Winkle's last Lawrenceburg bottlings, from the early 2000s. Van Winkle's ledgers show that he was drip-fed orders for the Hirsch Reserve, and only produced limited case numbers to order when requested by Hue. This has lead to a variety of different bottlings at different ages. This is the second batch of the A.H. Hirsch Reserve bottled as a 16 year old, and is affectionately known as the \"Gold Wax.\" The same label was used by Buffalo Trace for the 2003 release, although that time featured a gold foil seal. Van Winkle was a fan of the dripping wax aesthetic, but this was a registered trademark of Maker's Mark in the US. He commonly used the motif on special export releases for a markets where this law did not apply.

Gordon Hue, who had maintained exclusive distribution rights to the Hirsch product despite the Van Winkle and Sazerac connections, eventually sold the brand to Preiss Imports who moved the subsequent and final bottling (technically re-bottling) to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Old Rip Van Winkle 15 Year Old 1999 / Stitzel-Weller

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

This was bottled in 1999 at Old Commonwealth distillery. The Old Rip Van Winkle 15 year old was discontinued in 2004 and replaced by the familiar Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve of the same age. The product from this era will contain bourbon distilled at Old Fitzgerald distillery (as Stitzel-Weller was known after 1972).

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Old Hermitage 1916 AMS Co Bottled in Bond Bourbon Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Medicinal whiskey was a legal loophole exploited by a select number of distillers who were able to acquire a license to do so, and it allowed them to continue bottling their bonded stock as a prescription medication (and in same cases as a weekly baking ration).

This was distilled by the W.A. Gaines company at what is better known as the Old Crow distillery. Old Crow is was one of Kentucky's earliest bourbon brands, created in the 1830's by Scottish immigrant, James C. Crow, Master Distiller at the Old Oscar Pepper distillery. He pioneered the use of scientific methods to ensure continuity in the quality of his whiskey. After his death, Oscar Pepper built a second distillery in honour, naming it Old Crow, with his son James E. Pepper taking over as Master Distiller. The brand and distillery was purchased by Hermitage distillery owners, W.A. Gaines.

W.A. Gaines operated the distillery up until Prohibition was enacted in 1920, closing their distilleries. In the preceding years they were heavily rumoured to have been part of the nefarious Whiskey Trust. The Trust, officially known as the Distiller's Securities Corporation had been set up initially to consolidate and bring regulation to the US whiskey industry, but quickly developed a reputation for strong arming and bullying distillery owners into making deals with them. As all of the Trust's whiskey was, the W.A. Gaines stock was bought up by Otto Wathen's American Medicinal Spirits company, one of six with a medicinal license to bottle whiskey.

This was bottled in 1927, by which point National Distillers (the new legitimate face of The Trust) had taken over the American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers would go on to buy and re-open the Old Crow distillery in 1934, following the repeal of the Volstead Act. The operated it until 1987 when it was closed by new owners, Jim Beam. 

Overholt 1908 Rye Whiskey Quart / Pre-Prohibition

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facilty, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey.Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to a New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsyvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

Bottled just before Prohibition, this 1908 vintage \"Overholt\" rye whiskey was apparently from the private reserve of the Mellon family, who stockpiled it for fear of running out in the wake of the Prohibition legislation banning all production and consumption in 1920.

Examples of these bottles exist with vintage ranging from the late 1900s into the early 1910s. This is a fascinating artefact from a long and storied whiskey history.

Overholt 1908 Rye Whiskey Quart / Pre-Prohibition

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facilty, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey.Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to a New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsyvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

Bottled just before Prohibition, this 1908 vintage \"Overholt\" rye whiskey was apparently from the private reserve of the Mellon family, who stockpiled it for fear of running out in the wake of the Prohibition legislation banning all production and consumption in 1920.

Examples of these bottles exist with vintage ranging from the late 1900s into the early 1910s. This is a fascinating artefact from a long and storied whiskey history.

Old Rip Van Winkle 12 Year Old Old Time Rye 2000 / Rinaldi Import

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

This is the old style Old Rip Van Winkle 12 year old rye, which is extremely rare. These were originally bottled in 1997 using whisky from Medley distillery, and bottled by Julian III at Old Commonwealth. The following year, the same reserves were bottled as the 13 year old Family Reserve Rye, which became an annual release with the same age statement, despite continuing to age in cask for a further five years before being tanked at 19 years old in 2004. Later releases of Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye were blended with Bernheim's Cream of Kentucky. The original batch finally ran out in 2017, making this original release incredibly sought after.

This is a circa 2000 bottling with the 12 year old age statement, meaning the whiskey is closer to 15 years old.

Old Heaven Hill 21 Year Old Ultra Premium 1990s

Heaven Hill was established by a group of private investors in 1935, following the repeal of Prohibition a few years earlier. Among the founders was distiller, Joseph L. Beam, and a member of the Shapira family. As the company grew, the Shapira's eventually acquired sole ownership of it, and their descendants still run it today. In a similar dynastic vein, Joe Beam remained master distiller despite the Shapira takeover, and members of his family have occupied the role ever since. This was produced at the Old Heavenhill Springs distillery, later renamed simply as Heaven Hill, which was located in Bardstown, Kentucky. It was sadly lost in a devastating fire in 1996, and bourbon made there has become increasingly sought after as the years pass. The company had no distillery for the next three years, but were permitted to rent stills at Jim Beam and Brown-Forman in order to maintain production. They eventually acquired the newly refurbished Bernheim distillery from Diageo in 1999, which has been their home ever since.

This is one of several high-end offerings produced by Heaven Hill for Japan in the 1990s. The cognac-style bottles and dripping wax presentation was particularly popular there, pioneered by Gordon Hue and Julian Van Winkle III. The Heaven Hill Ultra Premium likely dates from the early 1990s, prior to the cease and desist letters regarding the dripping red wax being issued by Maker's Mark.

Overholt 1908 Rye Whiskey Quart / Pre-Prohibition

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facilty, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey.Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to a New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsyvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

Bottled just before Prohibition, this 1908 vintage \"Overholt\" rye whiskey was apparently from the private reserve of the Mellon family, who stockpiled it for fear of running out in the wake of the Prohibition legislation banning all production and consumption in 1920.

Examples of these bottles exist with vintage ranging from the late 1900s into the early 1910s. This is a fascinating artefact from a long and storied whiskey history.

Old Hickory 20 Year Old Straight Bourbon 1974

Produced in Philadelphia by Continental Distillers at their Publicker distillery. Publicker would go on to invest heavily in the Scotch market, founding Inver House distillers.

The Old Hickory brand exists again today, revived by the R.S. Lipman company. With the Pulicker distillery long gone, the brand is produced using sourced whiskey from MGP in Indiana. This bottle is a great example of the original product.

Old Rip Van Winkle 15 Year Old 1998 / Stitzel-Weller

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

This was bottled in 1998 at Old Commonwealth distillery. The Old Rip Van Winkle 15 year old was discontinued in 2004 and replaced by the familiar Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve of the same age. The product from this era will contain bourbon distilled at Old Fitzgerald distillery (as Stitzel-Weller was known after 1972).

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

Old Overholt 1921 Bottled in Bond Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facility, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey. Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsylvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

This bottle was distilled in 1921 at Large distillery in Pennsylvania. The Rye whisky was then bonded at the distillery, where it was stored and, thankfully, protected from the Prohibition Act of 1920 which banned all production and consumption of the alcohol in the US for the next 13 years.

The Large distillery was best known for its Monongahela Rye, a national brand in the US until it was removed from the shelves, along with may others by the prohibition act of 1920. Large distillery was one of just three in the US that were premitted to continue distilling medicinal whiskey after Prohibition was enacted, which is why this has a 1921 vintage. Sadly, doing so was not financially viable and none of them did so for longer than three years. Permits were later reissued to different distillers in 1930.

This was bottled in 1932 and was one of the earliest examples of the National Distillers version of the brand. It was produced using the American Medicinal Spirits Co's license. National Distillers were essentially the reincarntion of the infamous Whiskey Trust, who had invested heavily in the AMS Co with view to capitalising on its assetts after repeal.

Old Mock 1916 A Ph Stitzel 18 Year Old Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

A fantastic old Prohibition era bottling of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky. Although the Volstead Act of 1919 had banned the production and sale of alcohol throughout the US, a certain number of distilling companies were permitted to continue bottling existing stock, mostly for medicinal use, but also for weekly baking rations.

One such company was A. Ph. Stitzel Inc, who procured this particular barrel from the Daviess County Distillery (registered distillery 2 in the 2nd district of KY). This distillery was one of the majority that were forced to close after prohibition was enacted. Records show that most of their stock was purchased by the American Medicinal Spirits Company, but some reached smaller companies like A. Ph. Stitzel as well, who bottled this using their Old Mock  brand.

A. Ph. Stitzel survived Prohibition, and was one of the few to emerge with a functioning distillery, refinancing themselves after the difficult 13 dry years by contract distilling for other companies as well, including the juggernaut Schenley corporation. They would of course would go on to merge with Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle's W.L. Weller company to create the legendary Stitzel-Weller. The \"18 Summers Old \" phrase on this label was a persistent motif on Stitzel-Weller bottlings too, and can also be seen on some modern Van Winkle bottlings.

Bottled in 1933, shortly before repeal, this includes the standard \"medicinal purposes\" only label, guaranteeing a pre-January 1920 distillation date.

Old Overholt 1921 Bottled in Bond Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Old Overholt is one of America's oldest whiskey brands, tracing its roots back to 1810 when Abraham Overholt took over distilling operations at his family's farm in West Overton. A family business until the early 20th century, it was reorganised as A. Overholt & Co by Abraham's sons, Jacob and Henry, although it was not until 1888 that the Old Overholt brand was first introduced. Despite its historical links to West Overton, which is still a museum today , most Overholt whiskey was produced at the larger, more modern Broad Ford facility, built in 1859. Both were run in tandem until shut down by Prohibition. Fortunately, Broad Ford was able to survive America's decade of temperance. When Abraham's grandson, Henry Clay Frick died in 1919, he left the ownership of the company to Andrew Mellon, who would later become president Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Treasury, a position which allowed him to grant Broad Ford a license to bottle \"medicinal\" whiskey. Considered a political liability, Mellon was under pressure to offload the company however, and he sold it first to New York grocers, Park & Tilford in 1925, who in turn sold it on to National Distillers in 1932. National Distillers were consolidating interests in as much of the industry as possible with the repeal of Prohibition expected the following year, most notable was their acquisition of the Wathen family's American Medicinal Spirits Co. National Distillers produced Old Overholt until 1987, bottling it with whiskey from Broad Ford and the neighbouring Large distillery until the 1950s, and at an unknown Pennsylvania plant in the intervening years until its acquisition by Jim Beam. Today they continue to make it at their distilleries in Kentucky.

This bottle was distilled in 1921 at Large distillery in Pennsylvania. The Rye whisky was then bonded at the distillery, where it was stored and, thankfully, protected from the Prohibition Act of 1920 which banned all production and consumption of the alcohol in the US for the next 13 years.

The Large distillery was best known for its Monongahela Rye, a national brand in the US until it was removed from the shelves, along with may others by the prohibition act of 1920. Large distillery was one of just three in the US that were premitted to continue distilling medicinal whiskey after Prohibition was enacted, which is why this has a 1921 vintage. Sadly, doing so was not financially viable and none of them did so for longer than three years. Permits were later reissued to different distillers in 1930.

This was bottled in 1932 and was one of the earliest examples of the National Distillers version of the brand. It was produced using the American Medicinal Spirits Co's license. National Distillers were essentially the reincarntion of the infamous Whiskey Trust, who had invested heavily in the AMS Co with view to capitalising on its assetts after repeal.

Old Rip 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2001 / Stitzel-Weller

The Old Rip Van Winkle brand was a pre-prohibition bourbon label, revived by the Van Winkle family after they were forced to sell their Stitzel-Weller distillery by its board of directors. New owners, Somerset Imports, granted Julian Van Winkle II (son of the famous 'Pappy') the continued use of an office at the distillery, and first option on purchasing casks to bottle his new brand with. When he died and the business passed to his son, Julian III, this courtesy was no longer extended, and he moved bottling to the old Hoffman distillery in Lawrenceburg in 1983, renaming it Old Commonwealth. He was still able to buy Stitzel-Weller stock though, and introduced the famous Pappy Van Winkle range in homage to his grandfather, using well-aged barrels from the distillery the now-legendary figure once so lovingly ran. When Stitzel-Weller was closed down by United Distillers in 1992, it was only a matter of time before stock would run out. This necessitated a partnership between Julian Van Winkle III and Buffalo Trace distillery in 2002, seeing all bottling move there, initially using the remaining Stitzel-Weller barrels, with these eventually replaced by Buffalo Trace distilled stock. The product from all eras is revered, and the brand is considered to be the first premium bourbon line to have been produced in the US.

One of the final Old Commonwealth bottlings, this 12 year old bourbon was produced in 2001 using barrels from Old Fitzgerald distillery (the name of Stitzel-Weller at the time).

The Stitzel-Weller company was officially established in 1933 at the repeal of National Prohibition in the US. It was the result of a merger between the A. Ph. Stitzel distillery and its biggest customer, W.L. Weller & Sons. The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened on Kentucky Derby day in 1935, and quickly developed a reputation for its high quality wheated bourbon, and its main brands were Old Weller, Old Fitzgerald and Cabin Still. The original ownership was shared between Alex T. Farnsley, Arthur Philip Stitzel and Julian Van Winkle. The former passed-away in 1941 and 1947, respectively, leaving the Van Winkle family as the sole heirs to the business. 'Pappy' died in 1965, having handed the reigns to his son, Julian II the year prior, who ran it until 1972 when the board of directors forced him to sell it to the Norton-Simon subsidiary, Somerset Imports. When they were bought over by the American arm of Scottish distillers, DCL, its subsequent iteration invested heavily in bourbon. So much so in fact, that their newly rebuilt Bernheim distillery had such capacity that Stitzel-Weller was rendered surplus to requirements. It was shut down in 1992. Still part of the Diageo portfolio, it has never re-opened and instead now houses the visitor experience for their Bulleit brand.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2009 Humidor Release

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph H. Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had dealings with Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whiskey as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

When Michter’s distillery finally closed in 1989, Hirsch was well into his nineties, and rather than engage in exigency of rehoming what no longer served its purpose to him, he instead sought to find a buyer for it. Fearing the arduous task of finding a buyer for what was considered an “over-aged” batch of whiskey, Hirsch was fortunate in that one of his old Schenley contacts called Bob Gottesman knew a man in Kentucky who was looking for exactly that, Gordon Hue.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand and subsequent partnership with the Sazerac Company in 2002 also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. Those bottles were filled in 2003 for the new owners of the Hirsch Reserve, Preiss Imports, who purchased it from Gordon Hue that year. This is technically a re-bottling of one of those 2003 releases. Produced in 2009, Preiss Imports had their remaining stock of the Buffalo Trace bottles decanted into these hand-blown glasses and presented them mahogany humidor boxes. There were only 1000 made, and the bottling was done at Willett by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Old Fitzgerald Prime Bourbon Rip Van Winkle Porcelain Decanter 1971 / Stitzel-Weller

Originally registered as \"Jno. E. Fitzgerald,\" the Old Fitzgerald brand was devised by S.C. Hebst in 1870. Hebst was a rectifier by trade (using grain neutral spirit with colouring and flavourings to make \"whiskey\"), but he also had a passion for sourcing high quality barrels of pot still bourbon and rye, which he bottled as Jno. E. Fitzgerald. When the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was passed, rectified whiskey fell out of favour and Hebst went into the distilling business, purchasing a distillery which he named Old Judge after his best-selling flagship brand. Old Judge did not survive Prohibition however, and Hebst sold the Old Fitzgerald brand for just $10,000 to a former customer, a certain Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, who was sourcing label for his new Stitzel-Weller venture. Van Winkle had a near-religious belief in the importance of quality above all else in the bourbon he produced and under his guidance, Old Fitzgerald became and remains to this day, one of the most sought-after and respected labels in American whiskey. Stitzel-Weller was eventually shut down by United Distillers, and as their successor, Diageo, sold the Old Fitzgerald brand to current owners, Heaven Hill.

This is a fantastic example of old Stitzel-Weller produced Old Fitzgerald bourbon. While under his management, 'Pappy' Van Winkle refused to bottle Old Fitzgerald at anything less than the domestic requirement of 100 proof, set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. When he stepped back from management in 1964 however, the board put pressure on Julian II to meet the market demand for a lighter style product, and Old Fitzgerald Prime was launched later that year.

This is presented in a rare Rip Van Winkle Porcelain decanter in 1971. When the Van Winkle family sold Stitzel-Weller and the Old Fitzgerald brand the following year, these decanters became Julian Van Winkle II's main line of business, which he sold under the Old Rip Van Winkle and Old Commonwealth brands.

Old Ramshead 1916 AMS Co Bottled in Bond Whiskey Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Distilled in 1916, this bourbon was protected in bond by the American Medicinal Spirits Company from the Prohibition Act of 1920, which made alcohol production and consumption illegal.

The whiskey was produced at the Anderson Distillery distillery in 1916, then owned by the infamous Whiskey Trust. The Trust was accused of engaging in several illegal activities, including intimidation of distillery owners who did not want to sell up to them. They acquired Anderson by some means in 1905, but were forced to close it down with the enactment of Prohibition in 1920. The stocks from the distillery were transferred to the Wathen warehouses that year, and bottled by the American Medicinal Spirits Company.

The American Medicinal Spirits Company was one of only around 30 distilling companies to survive Prohibition of the 434 that existed prior. Exploiting the medicinal loophole was the brainchild of Otto Wathen, an idea which continues to prove its value today in the persisting image of his still ever-popular portfolio, which eventually included Old Grand-dad, Old Taylor and Old Crow, among many others. The American Medicinal Spirits Company was eventually subsumed by National Distillers (the revived \"legitimate\" face of The Whiskey Trust), who along with Schenley, Hiram Walker and Seagram's, became the \"big 4\" American whiskey companies following the eventual repeal of Prohibition.

The National Distillers acquisition of the AMS Co meant the return for brands such as Old Ramshead, bottled here in 1930. Sadly, as with many others, the Anderson Distillery never returned, and was razed and never rebuilt following the repeal of Prohibition.

Old Ramshead 1916 AMS Co Bottled in Bond Whiskey Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

Distilled in 1916, this bourbon was protected in bond by the American Medicinal Spirits Company from the Prohibition Act of 1920, which made alcohol production and consumption illegal.

The whiskey was produced at the Anderson Distillery distillery in 1916, then owned by the infamous Whiskey Trust. The Trust was accused of engaging in several illegal activities, including intimidation of distillery owners who did not want to sell up to them. They acquired Anderson by some means in 1905, but were forced to close it down with the enactment of Prohibition in 1920. The stocks from the distillery were transferred to the Wathen warehouses that year, and bottled by the American Medicinal Spirits Company.

The American Medicinal Spirits Company was one of only around 30 distilling companies to survive Prohibition of the 434 that existed prior. Exploiting the medicinal loophole was the brainchild of Otto Wathen, an idea which continues to prove its value today in the persisting image of his still ever-popular portfolio, which eventually included Old Grand-dad, Old Taylor and Old Crow, among many others. The American Medicinal Spirits Company was eventually subsumed by National Distillers (the revived \"legitimate\" face of The Whiskey Trust), who along with Schenley, Hiram Walker and Seagram's, became the \"big 4\" American whiskey companies following the eventual repeal of Prohibition.

The National Distillers acquisition of the AMS Co meant the return for brands such as Old Ramshead, bottled here in 1930. Sadly, as with many others, the Anderson Distillery never returned, and was razed and never rebuilt following the repeal of Prohibition.

Old Grand-Dad 1917 AMS Co Bottled in Bond Whiskey Pint / Prohibition Era Bottling

The stories behind America's bourbon brands are some of the greatest in whisky history, and no other traces the narrative of Kentucky distilling as closely as Old Grand-dad. Bourbon historian Chuck Cowdery describes the brand's story as \"one of the richest in bourbon country,\" with distilling dynasties such as the Beam, Dant, Hayden, Taylor, Medley and Wathen families all having a hand in its production over the years.

The original old Grand-dad was Basil Hayden, who's second generation descendents named their primary brand in his honour (he still features on the label today). They built the original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station, not far from where Jim Beam's Clermont distillery now sits today. It was at this original distillery that this whiskey was produced, by the brands new owners, the Wathen family. They bought the Hobbs Station distillery its brands in 1899, and developed a successful business out of it. Even with the Prohibition Act looming on the horizon, the Wathen family were shrewd, and re-organised their company as the American Medicinal Spirits Co. This allowed them to exploit a loophole in the Prohibition laws, which had banned the production and sale of alcohol, but permitted the continued bottling of whiskey for medicinal purposes and as a weekly baker's ration. Otto Wathen consolidated much of Kentucky's distilling, filling his warehouses with bonded stock and acquiring brands such as Hill & Hill, Bourbon de Luxe and Old Crow.

It was the AMS Co who bottled this whiskey in 1933, just around the time of repeal of Prohibition. The AMS Co were eventually bout over by National Distillers, who went on to become one of the biggest post-repeal distilling companies in the US. The original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station never re-opened after Prohibition however, with National Distillers buying what is the more familiar Old Grand-dad distillery in Frankfort in 1933. It and National Distillers were acquired by Jim Beam in 1987, who produce it to this day at Clermont, a return (almost) to its spiritual home, where this rare gem and true artefact from bourbon history was produced.

Old Fitzgerald Prime Bourbon Rip Van Winkle Porcelain Decanter 1971 / Stitzel-Weller

Originally registered as \"Jno. E. Fitzgerald,\" the Old Fitzgerald brand was devised by S.C. Hebst in 1870. Hebst was a rectifier by trade (using grain neutral spirit with colouring and flavourings to make \"whiskey\"), but he also had a passion for sourcing high quality barrels of pot still bourbon and rye, which he bottled as Jno. E. Fitzgerald. When the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was passed, rectified whiskey fell out of favour and Hebst went into the distilling business, purchasing a distillery which he named Old Judge after his best-selling flagship brand. Old Judge did not survive Prohibition however, and Hebst sold the Old Fitzgerald brand for just $10,000 to a former customer, a certain Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, who was sourcing label for his new Stitzel-Weller venture. Van Winkle had a near-religious belief in the importance of quality above all else in the bourbon he produced and under his guidance, Old Fitzgerald became and remains to this day, one of the most sought-after and respected labels in American whiskey. Stitzel-Weller was eventually shut down by United Distillers, and as their successor, Diageo, sold the Old Fitzgerald brand to current owners, Heaven Hill.

This is a fantastic example of old Stitzel-Weller produced Old Fitzgerald bourbon. While under his management, 'Pappy' Van Winkle refused to bottle Old Fitzgerald at anything less than the domestic requirement of 100 proof, set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. When he stepped back from management in 1964 however, the board put pressure on Julian II to meet the market demand for a lighter style product, and Old Fitzgerald Prime was launched later that year.

This is presented in a rare Rip Van Winkle Porcelain decanter in 1971. When the Van Winkle family sold Stitzel-Weller and the Old Fitzgerald brand the following year, these decanters became Julian Van Winkle II's main line of business, which he sold under the Old Rip Van Winkle and Old Commonwealth brands.

Old Grand-Dad 1957 Bottled in Bond 86 Proof

The stories behind America's bourbon brands are some of the greatest in whisky history, and no other traces the narrative of Kentucky distilling as closely as Old Grand-dad. Bourbon historian Chuck Cowdery describes the brand's story as \"one of the richest in bourbon country,\" with distilling dynasties such as the Beam, Dant, Hayden, Taylor, Medley and Wathen families all having a hand in its production over the years.

The original old Grand-dad was Basil Hayden, who's second generation descendents named their primary brand in his honour (he still features on the label today). They built the original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station, not far from where Jim Beam's Clermont distillery now sits today. They bought the Hobbs Station distillery its brands in 1899, and developed a successful business out of it. Even with the Prohibition Act looming on the horizon, the Wathen family were shrewd, and re-organised their company as the American Medicinal Spirits Co. This allowed them to exploit a loophole in the Prohibition laws, which had banned the production and sale of alcohol, but permitted the continued bottling of whiskey for medicinal purposes and as a weekly baker's ration. Otto Wathen consolidated much of Kentucky's distilling, filling his warehouses with bonded stock and acquiring brands such as Hill & Hill, Bourbon de Luxe and Old Crow.

The AMS Co were eventually bout over by National Distillers, who went on to become one of the biggest post-repeal distilling companies in the US. The original Old Grand-dad distillery at Hobbs Station never re-opened after Prohibition however, with National Distillers buying what is the more familiar Old Grand-dad distillery in Frankfort in 1933. It and National Distillers were acquired by Jim Beam in 1987, who produced this at Clermont, a return (almost) to its spiritual home. The National Distillers era Old  Grand-dad distillery is now a Beam bottling plant. 

This is a National Distillers era Bottled in Bond release. This was bottled for export, meaning the requirement for 100 US proof set our by American law did not apply.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2003 Release

A legendary bottle of bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon was bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph H. Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had dealings with Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whiskey as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

When Michter’s distillery finally closed in 1989, Hirsch was well into his nineties, and rather than engage in exigency of rehoming what no longer served its purpose to him, he instead sought to find a buyer for it. Fearing the arduous task of finding a buyer for what was considered an “over-aged” batch of whiskey, Hirsch was fortunate in that one of his old Schenley contacts called Bob Gottesman knew a man in Kentucky who was looking for exactly that, Gordon Hue.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand and subsequent partnership with the Sazerac Company in 2002 also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is one of the Buffalo Trace bottles, filled in 2003 for the new owners of the Hirsch Reserve, Preiss Imports, who purchased it from Gordon Hue that year.

Preiss Imports moved the subsequent and final bottling (technically re-bottling) to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the \"best whiskeys I've ever tasted.\"

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.