Abraham Overholt

Henrich K. (Henry) Oberholzer, a German Mennonite, was a 61-year-old farmer from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who loaded his family and all his worldly goods into horse-drawn wagons and took the long and primitive road over the Allegheny Mountains to Western Pennsylvania in 1800. There, he and his sons cleared 150 acres of wilderness on their 263-acre farm on the banks of Jacob’s Creek that fed into the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the mighty Monongahela River, and set out to farm the land. Henry later changed the family’s name from Oberholzer to Overholt to assimilate better in America.

In 1803, the Overholts built a log stillhouse and started making small amounts of whiskey out of the grain they were growing. Henry’s second-youngest son, named Abraham, had been born in 1784 and by now was a weaver by profession. He took over the management of the stillhouse around 1810 and turned it into a thriving business. Abraham was considered by many to be an ‘unruly Mennonite’. Standing only 5’8” and with a 42-inch chest, Abe was said to have possessed a “frugal, industrious and economical disposition.” But Abraham had found his calling, and by the 1820s, the distillery was putting out 15 gallons of rye whiskey per day.

Abraham married into the very wealthy family of Maria Stauffer. Together, Abraham and Maria had eight children. Curiously, the pair gave all of the children the middle name Stauffer, reportedly so that everyone around knew that they came from a prominent family. Those included by age were Anna “Annie” S. Overholt, Henry Stauffer Overholt, Jacob Stauffer Overholt, Abraham Overholt (Jr.), Elizabeth Stauffer Frick (whose husband John Wilson Frick later managed the distillery), Martin Stauffer Overholt and Christian Stauffer Overholt.

Under Abe’s leadership, the size of the still itself increased three times between 1811 and 1828. In 1832, Abraham rebuilt the entire distillery in stone and expanded its capacity more than tenfold. A few years later, he built a substantial new gristmill, further streamlining production as his sons no longer had to haul his grain away by wagon to be milled. Abraham’s business was very much a family concern, involving two of his four sons and various sons-in-law and grandsons. Abraham continued to grow the company rapidly; by 1843, Baltimore newspapers were advertising “Overholt's Old Rye: Best in the Country”. At that time, only a very few top distilleries were advertised by name.

In 1854, the Overholts built a large, modern distillery at Broad Ford, only miles away on the banks of the Youghiogheny, and, more importantly, right next to the tracks of the brand new Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad. By 1859, Overholt had incorporated his business as "A. Overholt & Co." He operated outt of a new distillery building that was six stories high, 100 feet long, and which could produce 860 gallons (roughly 17 Barrels) per day.

Abraham Overholt died in January of 1870 at the age of 85 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In 1881, his grandson Henry Clay Frick took over the company. As one of the country's wealthiest people, the distillery was nothing more than a sentimental side-business for Frick, who later took on industriallist Andrew Mellon as a partner.

In 1888, the name "Old Overholt" was adopted as the official name of the company, and a picture of Abraham was placed on the logo. Around that time, the company also started selling its product in bottles instead of barrels. By 1900, Old Overholt became a national brand and one of the largest and most respected whiskies in the country.

Frick died in December 1919 and left his share of the distillery to Andrew Mellon. This ended family ownership in the company. National prohibition of alcohol was passed in 1920 and hit distillers hard; many distilleries were put out of business, but because it was owned by Andrew Mellon, who was then secretary of the treasury under President Warren G. Harding, Old Overholt was able to secure one of only six national permits for selling medicinal whiskey.

After Prohibition repeal, the company was sold to National Distillers Products Co., which owned more than 200 brands at the time. During World War II, Old Overholt was the so-called "medicinal" alcohol of the United States Navy. After the war's end, whiskey fell out of favor with the American public as many drinkers switched to white liquors such as vodka and gin. Rye whiskey especially fell out of favor, and by the 1960s, Old Overholt was one of only three nationally distributed straight rye whiskeys (the others were Jim Beam and Wild Turkey).

Old Overheat struggled through the 1970s as sales continued to decline. In 1987, Old Overholt was sold to the James B. Beam Distilling Company, which moved production to Kentucky. Jim Beam still produces Old Overholt whiskey, which is one of three bourbons affectionately nicknamed “The Olds” (the other two being Old Crow and Old Grand-Dad).

Old Overholt Rye is still distilled by A. Overholt & Co. in Clermont, Kentucky. It is one of the most commonly available straight rye whiskies in the U.S. and is available at most liquor stores and bars. It is aged for three years and bottled at 80 proof. A five-year-old Bottled-In-Bond, 100 proof version was released in 2018. Old Overholt has been called a "cornerstone foundation of American whiskey" because of its long history.