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Old Fortuna?


algazortz
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Never heard of Old Fortuna but Glencoe was a distillery. The name moved around a bit, at one time occupying a site northwest of the Old Fitzgerald Distillery.

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Looks like the distillery had ties to the Stitzel's and was originally located in Louisville at 26th and Broadway. After prohibition it was rebuilt at Cane Run Rd. and Camp Ground Rd. in Shively. National Distillers purchased it in 1941 and later sold it to United Distillers in 1975. They closed it shortly thereafter. It was called the Fortuna Distillery and Glencoe Distillery among other titles along the way. See page 112 in "Bourbon in Kentucky" for more details.

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Old Fortuna was the main brand of the Stitzel Brothers distillery in the 1870s and 80s. They sold their distillery to the Hollenbach family and changed the name of the distillery to Glencoe, after their other major brand. The Hollenbach family continued to run the distillery until prohibition closed them down. After prohibition they came back to the market and buil;t a distillery in what is now Shively at the corner of Cane Run Road and Millers Lane, right behind the Stitzel-Weller distillery. I am not sure when they closed that distillery, but it was in the 1960s or early 70s. They had another distillery in the Bardstown area of Nelson County as well. I believe they sold out to National Distillers, but they may have simply went out of business. Heaven Hill uses the warehouse at the Bardstown distillery and the Shively distillery sight is used by a manufacturing company of some type - not sure what they make but trucks loaded with 100 pound bags of something come out of the plant everyday on my way to work. United Distillers never owned the site or the brands.

Mike Veach

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Mike your knowledge never ceases to amaze me and it's much appreciated for the history fans of bourbon!

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United Distillers never owned the site or the brands.

I double-checked, and Chet Zoeller definitely says that United Distillers owned the distillery in his book. However, I am more inclined to believe Mike. :grin:

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Chet made a mistake. United distillers never owned the distillery or the brands.

Mike Veach

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  • 2 months later...

My great grandfather was recuited to Louisville from germany to be the master distiller of Old Fortuna right at the turn of the century (possibly right after the sale). Old fortuna was a premium brand at that point from what we know.

C.

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