Soutirage Provides Rare Spirits Knowledge on Bourbon

Soutirage, purveyors of fine wine, spirits and the lifestyle that accompanies, wants May the Fourth Be With You to be remembered as another significant date that should not be overlooked. On May 4, 1964, Congress designated Bourbon Whiskey as a Distinctive Product of the United States.

At the heart of the resolution were Lewis Rosenstiel, head of Schenley Distillers Corporation — the most powerful figure in the spirits industry — and a purported bootlegger, who allegedly had ties to Meyer Lansky, J. Edgar Hoover, and Joseph McCarthy. While this landmark, 57 years ago, was momentous — the origins of Bourbon can be traced back to the late 18th century, when the Revolutionary War wrought the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, which helped drive Pennsylvania farmer-distillers to Kentucky — where they ditched their rye for corn.

The story of American whiskey is the stuff of Greek tragedy, and the past hundred or so years have brought countless Sisyphean sagas — from its boom at the turn of the last century to its obliteration with Prohibition, then a heroic post-war revival and the subsequent plateau in the 1970s. During the 19th century, rye was the most highly regarded spirit on the eastern seaboard and remained such until the Noble Experiment — but on the other side of prohibition, Bourbon rose from the ashes victorious and clutched the crown of America’s Native Spirit. And, in the time since, it has been enjoying its most significant rebirth, to date — having transcended regional acclaim, breaking into the global collective consciousness.

Among the labyrinth of mythical characters, hallowed distilleries, and global consolidation, it can become challenging to separate fact from fiction. The origins of Bourbon are disputed to this day, from its very name — whether derived from the French Bourbon dynasty, Bourbon County, Kentucky, or that fabled street in New Orleans — and who, in fact, made the first Bourbon whiskey. While its original distiller will never be known, credit is often attributed to Reverend Elijah Craig, who established his distillery in 1789, though it was never located in Bourbon County, thus disqualifying its county-of-origin. Another is Jacob Spears, who was across the line in Bourbon County — though, in all likelihood, it was simply a zeitgeist, born from the influx of those Pennsylvania farmers pushing their way west.

While there is no shortage of legendary figures in Bourbon lore — one of the most iconic names, of course, is Beam. Their story begins with Johannes Reginald Beam, a farmer who began producing whiskey in the 18th century — but it was Jacob Beam who sold his first barrels of corn whiskey around 1795. A little more than a century later, David M. Beam wisely moved the distillery to Nelson County for its proximity to the railroad lines; at the time, their label bore the name J.B. Beam — it was eventually re-named ‘Jim’ honoring James Beauregard Beam, who rebuilt the distillery after Prohibition in Clermont, Kentucky, near his Bardstown home. One of the very few distilleries to survive the Noble Experiment, Jim Beam (as it’s known today) has played an incredibly significant role in American history — and the family has done more to shape the story of bourbon than any other.

Then there are the other icons whose legacies were buried by consolidation — such as the Wathen brothers and Harry E. Wilken — who were said to have produced more whiskey than any other man. Hailing from a long line of distillers going back generations, Otho and Richard Eugene Wathen established the American Medicinal Spirits Company in response to the Volstead Act of 1919, at the dawn of Prohibition. The firm was founded to meet the needs of medicinal whiskey, in spite of the Noble Experiment as one of the few distillers who legally sold spirits during the prohibited years — from 1920 to 1933. After the repeal, they were among a handful of companies to thrive and prosper in an era of consolidation; in 1929, they sold AMS to National Distillers Products, which had artfully consolidated some 200 distressed brands and distilleries in the haze of Prohibition, Old Taylor, among them.

Setting the many tragedies aside — the greatest lasting, and unintended, the effect of Prohibition was an accidental innovation, which lay the foundation for perfection. The 1916 vintage was particularly pivotal; production was at its peak and Prohibition was imminent, setting the stage for an unprecedented confluence of dynamics. The whiskeys distilled in 1916 were meant to have been aged for around four years before being bottled; by the time this was to have occurred in 1920, the Volstead Act was in full swing and the entire industry had been seized. The result was Prohibition’s silver lining: extended aging. This evolution led to a new era for Bourbon, one in which barrel selection was everything; and the most important person was no longer the distiller but, in fact, the rickhouse manager.

There is, of course, no one more famous for his ability to select barrels than Julian Van Winkle, who — after spending more than a decade working for wholesaler, W.L. Weller & Sons — bought out the firm in 1908. A few years later they acquired the famed Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky; among their brands was Old Rip Van Winkle. During prohibition, Stitzel-Weller, as it came to be known, was allowed to produce medicinal whiskey. Until the time of his passing at the age of 89 — Pappy was the oldest active distiller in the country — he had a 30 run at Stitzel-Weller (1935 to 1965). Among the brands that he made famously were W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still.

Having received multiple inquiries of late, we just convinced a collector friend of ours to part with some of his rarest whiskeys — from Prohibition-era pints and National Distiller bottlings to Van Winkle Red Wax and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. In its entirety, this collection helps to tell the story of American whiskey during its most transformative era, through the lens of its greatest iconoclasts. We will be delighted to share information about each of these whiskeys — we have photography of each bottle — some of the bottles are signed, while others have original boxes, baskets, and the like. Given the exceptional rarity of these spirits, please understand that they are subject to confirmation and respond at your earliest opportunity.

About Soutirage

Soutirage is a wine merchant that works with individuals and corporations. Soutirage purveyors assist in building, developing, and managing wine collections, organizing tastings and events, and being the personal service for anything to do with wine. Soutirage is based in Napa Valley and works with clients around the world. More information on the company is available at www.soutirage.com and www.facebook.com/Soutirage.