The Historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery Just Released a 31-Year-Old Bourbon Bottled North of 80% ABV

(Photo: Stitzel Weller)

The Stitzel-Weller Distillery is cranking age, price and proof to unfathomable limits in its latest whiskey drop, announced by the brand on Friday.

Following on the heels of last year’s Stitzel Reserve 24 Year Old, the brand has unveiled a 31-year-old bourbon that appears to be its oldest officially labeled product yet (more on that later). Bottled at a staggering 163.2 proof (81.6% ABV), the release has been limited to a total of 176 bottles that will be sold exclusively at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville for $3,000 each.

The whiskey was distilled in 1992 by an unnamed “historic Kentucky bourbon producer” before aging for over three decades at the Stitzel facility. The whiskey was yielded from 13 barrels that were pulled in 2024, reserved and recently bottled on April 28 of this year.

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

“What makes this release so special is not just its age, but the fact that it reached 31 years with such integrity,” Austin said in a news release. “At Stitzel-Weller Distillery, our aging conditions have allowed us to carefully steward barrels like this over time in a way that very few distilleries in Kentucky can.”

Whether or not this is Stitzel’s oldest or most expensive whiskey is a matter of perspective  — which is to say, whiskey die-hards on Twitter will certainly be arguing about it. Founded in 1935 by Julian Van Winkle and Arthur Philip Stitzel, the original Stitzel-Weller distillery was an institution responsible for producing cult-favorites like Old Fitzgerald and W.L. Weller. The distillery was sold in 1972, closed in 1992 and acquired by spirits conglomerate Diageo in 1997. Today, the premises act as a visitor center for Bulleit Bourbon.

Stitzel Reserve is a distinct product, launched by Diageo last year in an effort to highlight historic barrels stored at the distillery.

Stizel Reserve 31-Year-Old Tasting Notes, Per the Brand

Nose: “Waxy orchard fruit and pear brandy layered with cedar, apple skin, burnt sugar, dried orange peel, a hint of cola syrup and the nostalgic warmth of aged books.”

Taste: “Powerful and concentrated, revealing dark fruit framed by structured oak tannins.”

Finish: “Exceptionally long, evolving into notes of pine boughs and baked apple.”