Stitzel-Weller Distillery

On Derby Day, May 5, 1935, Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr., Alex T. Farnsley, and Arthur Phillip Stitzel opened a distillery in Shively, just outside Louisville, Kentucky, built around a single stubborn idea: bourbon made with wheat instead of rye. That decision produced the softest, most approachable style of bourbon in Kentucky, and it turned Stitzel-Weller into the spiritual home of wheated bourbon, the style now chased by collectors under names like Pappy Van Winkle and Weller.

History & Heritage

Van Winkle, Farnsley, and Stitzel built the distillery at 3860 Fitzgerald Rd in Shively, a working-class suburb of Louisville, and ran it as a family operation for decades. Farnsley died in 1941 and Stitzel followed in 1947, leaving Julian Van Winkle Sr. in full control until his own death in 1965, when operations passed to his son, Julian Van Winkle Jr. The family sold the distillery to Norton-Simon Inc. on June 30, 1972, which renamed the site the Old Fitzgerald Distillery. United Distillers, a predecessor of the modern spirits conglomerate, acquired the property in 1984. Distilling ceased in 1992, and the site sat largely dormant for two decades before Diageo reopened it to the public as a tourism destination in 2014. Stitzel-Weller is owned, as of July 2026, by Diageo, which has controlled the property continuously since the 1984 acquisition.

The Whiskey

What set Stitzel-Weller apart was its mash bill. Under the Van Winkle family, the distillery used wheat rather than rye as its secondary grain, reportedly running around 75 percent corn, 18 percent wheat, and 18 percent malted barley, a formula that traded the spice of a rye bourbon for a rounder, softer profile. After the family sold the operation, the recipe shifted to roughly 75 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 5 percent malted barley. Production under the Van Winkles leaned on onsite jug yeast, open fermenters, roller mills, and spring water, along with barrels built from thicker oak with a deeper char and eight hoops rather than the industry-standard number. After the sale, some of those methods changed, including a move to municipal water and commercial bag yeast. Today the site runs a small "micro still-house," a tiny hybrid still capable of producing up to two barrels of whiskey per week for research, development, and visitor demonstrations, and it remains the site of ongoing distillation and maturation for Blade And Bow Bourbon. Bottling operations at the site ended by April 2025, with that work consolidated at other Diageo facilities in Kentucky, and the bulk of maturing and warehousing is being shifted to other Diageo sites over the following two to three years.

Why It Matters

Stitzel-Weller's fingerprints are on some of the most sought-after bourbon in the world, even though the original distillery has not run at full production since 1992. Blade And Bow Bourbon uses a solera aging method that blends some of the last whiskey actually distilled at Stitzel-Weller with younger stock, a direct thread back to the Van Winkle-era liquid. Diageo also ages and bottles its I.W. Harper and Orphan Barrel brands at the site. In June 2025, the distillery launched Stitzel Reserve, a distillery-exclusive series of rare, ultra-aged bourbons drawn from archival barrels, giving the brand a modern showcase for the wheated style the Van Winkle family pioneered nearly a century ago.

Visiting the Distillery

The distillery offers public tours, including the Stitzel-Weller Experience and a Progressive Walking Tour & Taste, each running 60 to 90 minutes. Tours include a stop at a working rickhouse, a cooperage viewing, a look at the micro still-house, and a guided tasting flight of Diageo whiskeys such as Blade And Bow, I.W. Harper, and Orphan Barrel. The site also hosts mixology classes and special events, and its on-site Garden & Gun Club serves cocktails and small plates. Visitors must be 21 or older. Hours run Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m., and Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the distillery closed Tuesdays. Bookings are made directly through the distillery's website, and booking one to two weeks in advance is recommended.