Stitzel-Weller
Whiskey Founders
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1
Alex T. Farnsley
2
Edwin S. Foote
Ed Foote never sought to be famous, or acknowledged, or respected, or even recognized for his work. “Back then, there was no master distiller,” explains Foote. Today, every master distiller is a rock star. But when I was working, the distiller stayed there and watched me. If you had the right crew, they were interested in the productand proud of it. It was a piece of cake”
3
Roy Hawes
4
Arthur Phillip Stitzel
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
5
Frederick Stitzel
In 1879, Frederick Stitzel gained a patent for a tiered storage system that would allow air circulation around the barrel; this soon became the standard for most rickhouses in the United States. Before this, barrels were stacked directly on top of each other, which was very risky, inviting the possibility of many problems occurring
6
Julian Van Winkle, Jr.
Julian Jr. became president of Stitzel-Weller in 1947, and under his leadership, the sales of products thrived. Junior ran the company until 1972, when he was forced by family co-owners to sell to Norton-Simon Company, who promptly renamed the operation ‘The Old Fitzgerald Distillery’. The company was then sold again to Distillers Corporation Limited, then again to Guinness, Ltd.
7
Julian Van Winkle III
In 1981, III decided to continue to operate the business on his own at the age of 32. He purchased a run-down building in an area of Louisville prone to flooding and continued to bottle Old Rip Van Winkle by hand. Unfortunately, In those days, bourbon sold well only if it came in a gimmicky decanter shaped like a dog or a football.
8
Julian Van Winkle, Sr. (Pappy)
Pappy Van Winkle was a true distiller who lived by the motto “We make fine bourbon at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon." Pappy had an affinity for his family and the legacy of his family name. He brought into the company his son Julian Proctor Jr., his son-in-law, King McClure, and eventually (once he grew into a young man) his grandson, Julian Proctor Van Winkle III.
9
William Larue Weller
William Larue Weller was born in July of 1825. His mother, Phoebe Larue Weller, was the daughter of the founder of Larue County, Kentucky, John Larue. William was destined to build a name for himself and used his family’s whiskey-making prowess as his foothold. William Larue Weller is credited with being the first distiller to produce Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey using wheat instead of rye in the mash bill. and were known as Weller’s original “wheated bourbons".