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Stitzel-Weller Rye Recipe Bourbon


smknjoe
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So, what's the deal with Stitzel-Weller's ryed bourbon(s)? What brands were they sold under and how long were they produced? How did they taste compared to similar offerings from other distilleries? I don't see much about this topic so any info would be appreciated.

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I recall reading here that some ryed bourbon was made on an as needed basis at S-W after the UD merger. It would have sold as one of the UD labels or as bulk.

Pick a UD or Diageo label from the 80's or 90's and it could have had some DSP-16 ryed bourbon.

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It would be really cool to have label names from that period that would produced at DSP-16.

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The ryed Bourbon produced at SW in the late 80s early 90s was made to support the Kentucky Tavern label which was a major UD brand at the time. UD also threw some SW wheat whisky in the label from time to time.

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It would be really cool to have label names from that period that would produced at DSP-16.

The bonded KTs did have DSP 16 on the label.

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  • 1 month later...

When I was at United Distillers as a grad student, the distillery made some I W Harper and Old Charter while they were working on the new Bernheim, but not much. Under the van Winkles, the distillery made mostly wheat recipe, but they also did some contract distilling which would call for a traditional bourbon being made.

Mike Veach

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Also, since SW specialized in the wheated Bourbon there's no guarantee their rye recipe whisky would have been any better than that made by others.

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  • 1 month later...

As Mike indicated, it's not like they never made rye-recipe bourbon at SW, but it was never a regular thing. Chances are that the rye-recipe bourbon made there was mixed with rye-recipe bourbon made at Yellowstone, Medley, Buffalo Trace, Old Bernheim, New Bernheim or some other distillery before it was bottled. Going on a quest for rye-recipe SW is pretty hopeless mission. Plus I think people have this idea that anything SW touched must be gold. It's not.

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Plus I think people have this idea that anything SW touched must be gold. It's not.

I've had some S-W (wheated) juice that was pretty bad. I was just curious if ryed bourbons were something they produced on a regular basis (and if so, what could be said about them.) Since the answer to that is no, I now know why the topic isn't brought up much. Thanks for the info guys!

Edited by smknjoe
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I drank Kentucky Tavern in the early-to-mid-90's, it was imported to Ontario then. It was one of the best bourbons I've ever had with a rich malty/fruity quality. While I suppose some wheat make got in there, I'd think they sent the rye stuff here given the Canadian predilection for rye. It didn't taste like a wheater either, even at its S-W best.

Gary

Edited by Gillman
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KT of that era was very good, partially because it was a solid Bourbon to begin with and because of the glut there was extra aged whisky in the blend.

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would that era stretch back to late 80's? Back then I don't know if I could tell the difference between a good or bad sip, but I had Kentucky Tavern late 80's I thought was really really very tasty.

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Yes and I now recall I drank this whiskey from about '85-'95, one place downtown had it. It might have varied in composition I suppose but I recall it being a rich smooth drink.

Gary

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Glenmore (Kentucky Tavern) was the last U.S. addition to what became Diageo, coming on board in 1991. The last distillery they operated was Medley in Owensboro, which produced until new Bernheim came on line in 1992. Glenmore was one of the distilleries that kept producing when the industry started to tank and shortly before UD bought them, they bought Medley, which had itself only a short time before bought Fleischmann's, so Glenmore had a lot of excess whiskey. But none of it was wheated until 1991 at the earliest. In the late 70s, Glenmore was using 10-year-old whiskey in Kentucky Tavern, which was known around town (I lived in Louisville until 1978) but wasn't reflected on labels. Although Yellowstone was a bigger brand, KT was Glenmore's flagship, so it got the best of what they had. After the merger, UD/Diageo didn't much care what they put into KT and they greatly cheapened the brand. They sold it to Constellation a few years later, then Constellation sold it to Sazerac.

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