Sunday, January 13, 2013

Stitzel Weller.....the return?

I've written quite a bit about Stitzel Weller bourbon over the last number of years as well as stating that they shut down operations around mid 1992.  Well, they're back.  The distillery grounds have been used over the years to age whiskey from numerous distillers but evidently Diageo has decided to fire up the still.

John Hansell over at Whiskey Advocate posts about the news.

I wouldn't get your hopes up that it will taste the same.  Let's see how things will shake out.  In the end, another KY distiller back in operation is good for whiskey lovers everywhere.

3 comments:

  1. Judging what I have heard from K&L lately Diageo will probably charge a small fortune, but in the end more bourbon is good!

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  2. I am kind of torn on this announcement. Part of me is glad to see such a historic distillery come back to life, but another part of me would prefer not waking a sleeping giant. I think people's expectation for great wheaters to be produced again is unlikely due to Diageo's current profile of no wheaters. I am more intrigued about the old stock of S-W bourbon that have been aging in S-W warehouses (i.e. how old?, how many barrels?). It would be cool to compare those stocks with the stocks that Julian sill MIGHT have at Buffalo Trace.

    Josh

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    1. I'm not necessarily torn but certainly sceptical....at least until I hear more specifics on Diageo's plans for distilling. In my discussions with other enthusiasts the statement is made about possibly makeing "SW" bourbon again. That will never happen. To my knowledge (and I could certainly be wrong on this), Julian owns the SW recipe. So besides the mashbill itself (to include the non-existent yeast), the environmentals could be completely different. Diageo certainly could make a wheat mashbill but for the most part, it will be new and yet another wheat offering.

      At a barrel pick last year in KY I tasted a 21 year old SW bourbon. It was so past its prime it was almost undrinkable. While there are certainly aged stock still sitting around, it's getting a little long in the tooth at this point with 20+ years of age. If this old SW stock was aged at ground level for the duration, then there's hope of some really nice stuff sitting around.

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