W.L. Weller
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
by Brian Donnelly
Who was W.L. Weller?
William Larue Weller (1825 – 1899) founded a liquor wholesale business, called W.L. Weller & Sons, in the 1840s in Lousiville, Kentucky. His legacy is given credit for creating the first commercial Wheated Bourbon, now produced under the W.L. Weller name at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Unfortunately for fans of the myth surrounding Weller, and his famous Wheated Bourbon, the story is not quite simple. History indicates that Weller was not a true distiller, as Bourbon lore suggests, he was just a rectifier and distributor. The company sourced whiskey from different local distilleries, blended, filtered, or flavored it, then packaged it under the company name and sold it to buyers.
History
In 1893, W.L. Weller & Sons, hired Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle as a sales representative. After Weller retired in 1896, and Van Winkle, with fellow sales representative Alex T. Farnsley, bought out this shares and gained a controlling interest in the company. The company continued sourcing and selling whiskey. The bulk of the whiskey came from the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery on Story Avenue in Lousiville. The distillery was founded in 1903 by Arthur Philip Stitzel, whose family came from a rich background in distilling.
The Stitzel Brothers originally built a distillery in Louisville in 1872, and with it came much experimentation and innovation. In 1879, Frederick Stitzel patented a rack system for storing the aging Bourbon barrels, that is still widely used today in Kentucky. The brothers experimented with a wide variety of Bourbon recipes, including different ratios for grains, yeast, distillation proof, and barrel entry strength. One of these trial Bourbon recipes involved using wheat, instead of rye, for one the small flavoring grains. It appears that the brothers never created a commercial brand that uses wheat but passed their wealth of distilling knowledge to Arthur Philip.
The A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery was one of six distilleries in Kentucky that was permitted to operate with a medicinal whiskey license during Prohibition. The W.L. Weller company, under Van Winkle, had a strong relationship with Stitzel, and together they sold whiskey to pharmacies for “medicinal prescription.” Van Winkle became President of the joint venture, Farnsely became the Vice President, and Stitzel became the secretary of the treasury.
When Prohibition ended in 1933, W.L. Weller and the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery officially merged into one company. Together they built a new distillery called the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky, which opened on Derby Day in 1935. They sold off the original A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery on Story Avenue to the Frankfort Distillery, and focus all their energy on producing their new Bourbon. After Prohibition, the Bourbon industry was left in ruins. There was a true Bourbon shortage, and the remaining distilleries did not have any stocks of aged Bourbon, because of the production limitations Prohibition placed on distilleries.
The new distillery released a brand called “Carolina Club,” which had expressions aged for one month, three months, six months, then one year. Finally, after serval years, they had aging reserves of at least four-year-old Bourbon to put into some major brands. They discontinued Carolina Club and produced Cabin Still, Old Weller, and Old Fitzgerald. The Stitzel-Weller Distillery produced a Wheated Bourbon recipe for Old Fitzgerald and Old Weller because they thought it tasted better, even without being matured as long. Remember, wheat is a softer flavoring grain than rye, and the distillery did not have large stocks of aged Bourbon in the years following Prohibition. Wheated Bourbon existed before Prohibition, but the Stitzel-Weller Distillery made this style of Bourbon commercially available with the brands Old Fitzgerald and Old Weller. The distillery continued to produce several different Bourbons, with different ages, and bottling proofs, but all with the same wheated mash bill. In 1961, they released Rebel Yell, which is still made with a wheated mash bill.
Farnsley died in 1941, and Stitzel died in 1948, leaving the distillery completely in control of Van Winkle. When Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle died in 1965, the distillery's operation passed on to his son Julain Van Winkle Jr. With Bourbon’s popularity in a steep decline, the Van Winkle Family sold the Stitzel-Weller Distillery to Norton-Simon in 1972. Norton- Simon changed the name to the Old Fitzgerald Distillery, but later after several acquisitions, United Distillers, a Scottish company, and the predecessor for the multinational alcoholic beverage company giant Diageo bought the distillery and closed it in 1992.
The major brands were sold off to other companies. Heaven Hill acquired Cabin Hill and Old Fitzgerald, Luxco acquired Rebel Yell, and Buffalo Trace acquired Weller in 1999. After a major renovation, Diageo eventually reopened and renamed the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in 2014, for the visitor center for Bulliet Bourbon.
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W.L. Weller Special Reserve
This expression has the green label, and claims to be the first wheated Bourbon.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Old Weller Antique
This expression has the red label.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: 107 (53.5 ABV%)
W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B.
“A few years ago, we asked whiskey drinkers to “Craft Your Perfect Bourbon” (C.Y.P.B.) online by visiting the website and choosing their ideal bourbon recipe, proof, warehouse location, and age. Thousands chose wheated Bourbon, just like William Larue Weller did years ago. This limited-edition whiskey is the result of the overwhelming consensus—a wheated recipe bourbon, aged on the highest warehouse floors for eight years, and bottled at 95 proof.”
W.L. Weller 12 Year
This expression has the black label. Matured a minimum of 12 years in new white American oak barrels at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Weller Full Proof
This expression has the blue label, is non-chill filtered and bottled at the same proof, as the new make, white dog, barrel entry proof. Matured a minimum of 12 years in new white American oak barrels at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: 114 (57% ABV)
W.L. Weller Single Barrel
This expression has the orange label, and is bottled from just one barrel, instead of having multiple barrels mingled or married together, to form a consistent flavor profile.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: Will vary based of barrel & year
William Larue Weller
This expression is a member of the Sazerac Antique Collection and is hand-bottled at barrel proof, uncut or unfiltered.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill
Proof: Will vary based of barrel & year
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Buffalo Trace Distillery – All Rights Reserved 2021
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