Stitzel Reserve Debuts With A 24-Year-Old Bourbon That's Been Waiting Since 1999
Stitzel Reserve
There are distilleries—and then there's Stitzel-Weller. Known to bourbon devotees as the 'cathedral of Bourbon,' the Louisville landmark has quietly held court since 1935, aging barrels that have become the stuff of legend. Now, the historic site is throwing open its gates in a new way, launching Stitzel Reserve, a distillery-exclusive series that begins with a showstopper: a 24-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey drawn from just nine barrels.
This isn't your average limited-edition bottle. This is history—bottled.
Stitzel Reserve is more than a brand extension—it's a platform for the rare, the archival, and the impossibly well-aged. The series draws from some of the oldest and most exceptional barrels resting within the legendary rickhouses of Stitzel-Weller, beginning with a showstopping debut: a 24-Year-Old Bourbon aged in new charred American oak barrels, laid down in 1999 by a historic Kentucky producer and matured in Warehouse B.
Only nine barrels were selected for this release, yielding a mere 191 bottles—each one individually numbered and hand-signed by Nicole Austin, Diageo's Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities, who personally curated and blended the whiskey.
'At Stitzel-Weller Distillery, we are fortunate to have inherited some of the most remarkable aging barrels in the country,' said Austin. '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 24-Year-Old expression isn't just a flex of age—it's a fully developed character study in bourbon form. The whiskey opens with a rich, leathery profile, layered with saddle oil and an elegant sweetness that rounds into burnt sugar on the finish. With an ABV of 61.7%, this is a cask-strength pour that still manages remarkable balance, depth, and warmth.
If you're the type who appreciates tasting notes that sound like the inside of a vintage study, this bottle is your spirit animal.
The packaging itself is an homage to the whiskey's character, featuring design cues inspired by wood and leather—elements as timeless as the bourbon inside. While there's no official release calendar for future expressions, each Stitzel Reserve bottling will be based solely on peak liquid maturity and barrel quality, not marketing timelines. In other words, you'll have to be patient—and lucky.
All releases in the Stitzel Reserve series will be available exclusively on-site at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. Beginning June 2025, consumers 21 and up can purchase the 750mL bottle directly at the distillery. Pricing, naturally, is available only upon request (a sure sign of prestige, or possibly heartbreak).
For those who just want a taste without committing to the full bottle, the distillery is offering bespoke pours at the Garden & Gun Club on-site. Each tasting experience includes an etched whiskey glass, branded bag, and a limited-edition Stitzel-Weller Distillery pin, ensuring your bragging rights come fully accessorized.
With Stitzel Reserve, the distillery is reaffirming its place not just as a producer, but as a custodian of bourbon legacy. It's a reminder that sometimes the most exciting things in whiskey aren't the new brands or experimental casks, but the stories quietly aging in oak, waiting for just the right moment to emerge.
This first release may be rare, but if the promise of the series holds, it's only the beginning. Consider it a toast to the past—and a whisper of what's still to come.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
38 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
S&P 500 Ekes Out Gain as US-China Talks to Resume
Bloomberg Television brings you the latest news and analysis leading up to the final minutes and seconds before and after the closing bell on Wall Street. Today's guests are Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg News, Ross Gerber, Gerber Kawasaki, Daniel Flax, Neuberger Berman, Tony Wang, T. Rowe Price, Chris Palmeri, Bloomberg News, Sinead Colton Grant, BNY Wealth, Angelo Zino, CFRA Research, Justin Bibb, Cleveland Mayor & Leonardo Williams, Durham Mayor, Alicia Caldwell, Bloomberg News, Gregory Valliere, AGF Investments, Pooja Sriram, Barclays. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
44 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Says China ‘Not Easy' Amid Trade Talks
Trade talks between the US and China will continue into a second day, according to a US official, as the two sides look to ease tensions over shipments of technology and rare earth elements. Dexter 'Tiff' Roberts, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and author of 'Trade War' a weekly newsletter on China's economy, examines which side has the advantage in these crucial discussions. Dexter with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily. (Source: Bloomberg)
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Trump pushes $1,000 ‘Trump accounts' for babies
As Republicans' massive tax and spending cut bill makes its way through the Senate, President Donald Trump on Monday touted a provision in the measure that would provide every child born in the United States with a $1,000 investment account. Dubbed 'Trump accounts,' the tax-deferred investment accounts would be set up for children born in the U.S. after Dec. 31, 2024, and before Jan. 1, 2029 — covering the majority of Trump's second term. The accounts will, over the course of a child's first 18 years, track the overall stock market, and parents are allowed to contribute up to $5,000 a year to the account. The accounts will be controlled by the child's guardians or parents. Once an account holder turns 18, they can cash out and use the funds, which will be taxed as long-term capital gains, for limited purposes: they can pay for college or a job training program, open a small business or make a down payment on a first home. If the money is spent on anything else, it will be taxed as ordinary income. 'This is a pro-family initiative that will help millions of Americans harness the strength of our economy to lift up the next generation, and they'll really be getting a big jump on life, especially if we get a little bit lucky with some of the numbers in the economies into the future,' Trump said Monday. Trump promoted the program as a pro-family, pro-child initiative at the same time his administration and congressional Republicans face criticism from Democrats over cuts that the tax, spending and immigration bill would make to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Democrats argue the reductions would leave millions of American children and families without proper health care or nutritional benefits. Trump appeared at a White House roundtable that featured leading CEOs, including Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Dell said his company would match the government's $1,000 seed money in the accounts of their employees' new children. At the event, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who shepherded the tax and spending cuts bill through the House last month, said the program is a 'transformative policy that gives every eligible American child a financial head start from day one.' 'If you have a 401(k), you understand the power of investing early for the future,' Johnson said at the White House. Trump accounts were originally introduced under the 'MAGA Act' — short for 'Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement' — by Rep. Blake D. Moore (R-Utah) in May. The proposal adopted Trump's name before it was incorporated in the House Republican version of the bill, which the Senate is working on. While Trump and Johnson encouraged Senate Republicans on Monday to keep the program in the bill, it is unclear if the proposal will remain. Already, fiscally conservative Republicans in the Senate have complained that the bill doesn't do enough to cut spending, and they are looking to make substantial revisions in the House package. Republicans have not released any cost estimates for the program. But with about 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. each year, the cost could exceed $3 billion annually. The One Big Beautiful Bill — as Trump and Republicans have dubbed the tax and spending cut package — is expected to add more than $3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Trump program is similar to 'baby bond' programs run in California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., which give some newborns investment accounts. However, while those local programs were created to reduce the wealth gap by supporting children in need or lower-income families, Trump accounts will be made available to Americans regardless of their socioeconomic status. To open a Trump account for their child, at least one of the parents will be required to have a Social Security number with work authorizations — leaving some U.S.-born children of immigrants out of the program. Economist Darrick Hamilton — who conceptualized the idea of baby bonds — told The Washington Post that Republicans' program will probably 'enhance inequality' by 'directing our public resources towards an already affluent class while at the same time, imposing … mean-spirited cuts to those who need the most.' 'It's a bad idea co-opting a good idea in both rhetoric and design,' Hamilton said. Other critics of the program said American children in poverty would be better off if congressional Republicans did not make major cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The current tax and spending bill would make significant cuts to both programs. 'Feel like low-income families would prefer their assistance buying groceries not get cut, but that's just me,' said Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Senior Director Brendan Duke on X.
