SW Bourbon List?

[Vange]

I was thinking the other day since SW is going to be extinct soon, maybe some members here could compile a list of all SW bourbon available. I am not sure if this list is too long or difficult to compile, but it seems that the SW bourbon topic comes up a lot in discussions here. Just my 2 cents.

Evangelos

[Virus_Of_Life]

That is a great idea that I had thought about as well.

Probably would be a list of decent length if you were to throw in all the older iterations of Fitz, such as very very old fitzgerald that is most likely never to be found again on a store shelf. But then again you just never know what could be sitting around in some very unexpected locations.

I'd be willing to bet, Evangelos, that someone already has something very close to this, just a matter of if they'll share it?...

[Vange]

Maybe we try and stick with the available (even if not readily avaialble) SW bourbons so anybody on sb.com can at least get a taste and bunker a few bottles before all of it is gone...........

[wadewood]

I think the list of current products with SW whiskey is short - Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15, 20, and 23 YO.

[TNbourbon]

• W.L. Weller Special Reserve 7yo (Louisville label)
  
• W.L. Weller Centennial (Bourbon Heritage Collection -- Louisville label)
  
• Old Weller Antique 107 (Louisville label)
  
• Very Special Old Fitzgerald 12yo (BHC -- early Louisville label)
  
• Rebel Yell (pre-c. 1990), 80- or 90-proof
  
• Cabin Still, pre-c. 1992
  
• Old Fitzgerald BIB (and variants -- e.g., , VOF, VVOF, VEOF, et al) from DSP-KY-16
  
• Old Fitzgerald Prime (86 and 80 proofs), pre-c.1996
  
• Old Rip Van Winkle 10/90 and 10/107, Lawrenceburg label
  
• Old Commonwealth 10/107
  
• Delilah's 10/100
  
• Other custom bottlings (Park Avenue Liquors, Woodside Partners, Binny's, et al)
  
• Van Winkle Special Reserve 12yo Lot B (pre-July 2005)
  
• Old Rip Van Winkle 15 (all)
  
• Pappy Van Winkle 15
  
• Twisted Spoke 16
  
• Pappy Van Winkle 20
  
• Pappy Van Winkle 23 (2nd and 3rd issues)
  
• David Nicholson 1843, pre-c.1990
  
• pre-1982 Old Commonwealth decanters, issued by J.P. Van Winkle (Julian's father) & Son (Julian)
  

Here's a start. I'm sure I've overlooked some early ones, and I'm not sure whether Weller 12 or Old Fitz's 1849 was ever 100% Stitzel-Weller, so others may suggest more.

[Virus_Of_Life]

• Pappy Van Winkle 23 (2nd and 3rd issues)

Here's a start. I'm sure I've overlooked some early ones, and I'm not sure whether Weller 12 or Old Fitz's 1849 was ever 100% Stitzel-Weller, so others may suggest more.

THANKS TIM! I somehow knew you'd chime in.

Who did the first release of Pappy 23? I read somewhere else that any green tinted bottles WEREN'T SW, but that post didn't say where they did come from. Bernheim?

[TNbourbon]

...Who did the first release of Pappy 23? I read somewhere else that any green tinted bottles WEREN'T SW, but that post didn't say where they did come from. Bernheim?

Julian is disinclined to say where that whiskey came from. Some of us have our guesses, but no confirmations. Whatever the provenance, damned good stuff!

[ThomasH]

For whatever it is worth, I read somewhere that the green tinted bottles of Pappy were from some barrels made at the long closed Old Boone distillery in Meadowlawn,KY. I will dig around and see if I can find the article.

[TNbourbon]

For whatever it is worth, I read somewhere that the green tinted bottles of Pappy were from some barrels made at the long closed Old Boone distillery in Meadowlawn,KY. I will dig around and see if I can find the article.

Julian himself has offered us at Gazebo gatherings some Boone bourbon in some of his early 14- and 16-yo bottlings, so I think if the 23 were also from there, he'd tell us.

[ThomasH]

Hello everyone,

I found the article that mentions the whiskey Julian used from the Boone distillery. In Jim Murrays book "Classic Tennessee, Bourbon and Rye whiskey" from 1998, it is on page 184 just below a picture of Will Mcgill, master distiller at S-W just after prohibition. By the way, this picture was mistakenly labeled as one of Pappy Van Winkle. In this article, it says the whiskey was some 20 year old from the Boone distillery. It may very well be that the Pappy 23 isn't from Boone whiskey stock, who knows? It also says that all other whiskey he marketed up until that time was primarily Stitzel Weller stock. I hope this helps!

Thomas

[TNbourbon]

...It also says that all other whiskey he marketed up until that time was primarily Stitzel Weller stock...

All and primarily -- I guess Murray covered himself there, didn't he?

Yes, Julian has bottled much Stitzel-Weller. The original, green-bottle Pappy 23 from Lawrenceburg wasn't among it. (By the way, that from Julian's own mouth.) It is a rye-recipe bourbon.

[ThomasH]

It seems that the people that publish Mr. Murrays books are not very good proof readers. Everyone of his books have contained misspellings and even mispronunciations. In one book, it even called the brand Old Fitzgerald "Old Fitzpatrick". Another funny thing in this book that had the info about the Boone whiskey is the caption about Old Rip Van Winkle 15/107. It says that this brand is the only wheated bourbon sold by IDV to an outside company. It also says that due to a new marketing strategy within the company, the days of this whiskey under this label may be numbered. I guess the Old Rip 15 brand and the current Pappy 15 won out as they are still S-W wheated whiskey. As Tim stated earlier, the 1st issue of Pappy 23 was a rye recipe bourbon, that is what made me wonder if the Boone whiskey was what was used for that bottling as it was also rye recipe bourbon. Oh well, it make for interesting discussion!

Thomas

[doubleblank]

In answer to some of the questions posted here........

Old Fitz 1849 was originally a SW bottling (I had a bottle from '72)

My recollection of numerous conversations with Julian regarding the provenance of his whiskies are as follows:

When I bought a Van Winkle 17yo made for the Japanese market at the auction, Julian said it was Boone whiskey, the same stuff as his first Pappy 20, only younger (of course).

The first Pappy 23 was not SW or Boone....and Julian isn't inclined to disclose its source.

Many of Julians other early bottlings are SW......the 14yo and 16yo VWFR is SW (and are some of his favorites).

As Tim said, lots of custom bottlings are also SW whiskey and continue to be. The Blue Smoke and the Berghoff bottlings could be added to Tim's list. SB members have bought various botllings of SW too. SW stuff you're likely to find on a shelf are the current Pappys. There is the occasional 15/107 which is SW and the even harder to find 10/107 from Lawrenceburg.

Good luck finding them.

Randy

[Gillman]

His ORVW 12 and 13 year old ryes may be from Medley, Owensboro.

Medley used to produce Rittenhouse and I suspect the ORVW ryes are Medley Rittenhouse well-aged. Currently Rittenhouse rye is a Heaven Hill product and the oldest available is but 6 years old, so it is hard to compare the Medley and HH versions.

Circa mid-80's Rittenhouse is hard to find; that was Medley but I have never (that I recall) seen a dusty shelf report here (Doug, maybe?).

Gary

[BourbonJoe]

How about the Weller Antique 107 - Louisville. I thought these were also SW whiskey.

Joe

[barturtle]

And what about Kentucky Tavern, it used to be a wheater and may have contained SW between 91-96 as it was bought from Glenmore in owensboro and UDV switched it to its wheat recipe then(it was a blended before)

[cowdery]

And what about Kentucky Tavern, it used to be a wheater and may have contained SW between 91-96 as it was bought from Glenmore in owensboro and UDV switched it to its wheat recipe then(it was a blended before)

Back in the day, certainly while Glenmore existed as an independent entity, pre-1992, Kentucky Tavern was a rye-recipe bourbon, and a good one. After Guinness bought Glenmore and merged it with Schenley (which owned SW at the time) to form UDV, KT went through a lot of iterations, which probably varied by market. It was a wheater, it was "Kentucky Whiskey," it was a blend, etc. At that point, I don't think UDV cared what they put in the KT bottle.

A lot of this discussion has focused on 'dusties,' but so far as products in current distribution are concerned, only the Van Winkle Family Reserve and Pappy bottlings are Stitzel-Weller whiskey.

[barturtle]

A lot of this discussion has focused on 'dusties,' but so far as products in current distribution are concerned, only the Van Winkle Family Reserve and Pappy bottlings are Stitzel-Weller whiskey

Very true, but many of these can still be found on shelves regularly, and some of them are not too dusty yet. Of course the new BT/HH versions of these products aren't exactly rot-gut, either.

[TNbourbon]

How about the Weller Antique 107 - Louisville. I thought these were also SW whiskey.

Joe

Absolutely right, Joe -- I've added it to my original list. Thanks.

[dougdog]

His ORVW 12 and 13 year old ryes may be from Medley, Owensboro.

Medley used to produce Rittenhouse and I suspect the ORVW ryes are Medley Rittenhouse well-aged. Currently Rittenhouse rye is a Heaven Hill product and the oldest available is but 6 years old, so it is hard to compare the Medley and HH versions.

Circa mid-80's Rittenhouse is hard to find; that was Medley but I have never (that I recall) seen a dusty shelf report here (Doug, maybe?).

Gary

Gary,

I've never found a Rittenhouse (medley or HH) on the shelf in California. Doesn't mean they weren't here...Ed ledger gave me an old BIN (Beverage Industry News) book from 1975, I'll check it when I get home tonight and see what was around back then. Maybe Roger or Tim or Christian can comment to their hunting experiences.

Also...Timothy, you mentioned the older version of Rittenhouse is around here and there, if you, or anyone else has or knows where one is, I'd be interested in a bottle of that.

Was there one on the Gazebo table last fall? I don't remember...

Doug

And Thanks everyone for the information on this thread, I've gathered it up and put it on a word doc...Good information on SW for future reference.

[boone]

The largest market for Rittenhouse Straight Rye is Wisconsin...You will be abe to find Rittenhouse in New York, Iowa, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky, to name a few :grin: Although, remember that it's not abundant. Some of these states only get a "few cases" at a time.

Bettye Jo

[nor02lei]

• Twisted Spoke 16
  

Here's a start. I'm sure I've overlooked some early ones, and I'm not sure whether Weller 12 or Old Fitz's 1849 was ever 100% Stitzel-Weller, so others may suggest more.

Tim,

I believe there are 2 versions of Twisted Spoke. The early is a rye recipe from a for my unknown distillery and the later SW. I got one bottle and I got no idea with version it is.

Leif

[dougdog]

I looks like Henry Clay (UD rare bourbon collection) was also SW whiskey...thanks to Mike Veach

Check out this link and scroll down to #21

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4476

[Hedmans Brorsa]

I looks like Henry Clay (UD rare bourbon collection) was also SW whiskey...thanks to Mike Veach

Check out this link and scroll down to #21

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4476

Not to mention I.W. Harper President´s reserve. See #41 in the same thread.

Still available from The Whisky Exchange.

[schlep]

A bottling of Rittenhouse from 1996 was distilled at DSP 12 (Barton) and bottled at DSP 31 (Heaven Hill). Does anyone know if Barton marketed any of their own rye in the past?

schlep