Historic Whiskey Brand Stitzel Weller Kicks Off New Series With 24-Year-Old Bourbon

Only 191 bottles of Stitzel Reserve 24 Year Old are available. (Photo: Stitzel-Weller)

The historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery is rolling out a new line of rare bourbons, starting with a 24-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey available only at the distillery. The release, called Stitzel Reserve, marks the beginning of a series of small-batch offerings pulled from some of the oldest barrels on-site.

Just 191 bottles of the 24-year-old bourbon are available, all drawn from nine barrels laid down in 1999 in Warehouse B. The whiskey is bottled at 61.7% ABV and comes in 750-milliliter bottles, which will be available starting in June only at the distillery. Pricing is available only at the distillery.

Nicole Austin, director of American whiskey liquid development and capabilities at Diageo, selected and blended the bourbon.

“We are fortunate to have inherited some of the most remarkable aging barrels in the country,” Austin said in a news release. “The launch of Stitzel Reserve is a pivotal moment for our distillery. It’s a celebration of the past and a bold step forward. This exceptional 24-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has spent decades maturing under careful supervision, developing a profile rich with notes of cracked leather, saddle oil, and burnt sugar.”

The bourbon is part of a new effort to highlight historic barrels stored at the distillery. Future Stitzel Reserve releases will be limited, with no set release schedule. Each bottling will be selected based on maturity and liquid quality, and all will be sold exclusively at the distillery.

Tastings are available through the Garden & Gun Club on-site. Each experience includes a pour of the whiskey, a branded glass, a gift bag and a limited edition Stitzel-Weller pin.

Stitzel-Weller opened in 1935 and has played a key role in bourbon history. It reopened to the public in 2014 and is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The site is located just five miles from downtown Louisville and is owned by Diageo.