After Pappy’s death in 1965, the Van Winkle family sold the Stitzel-Weller Distillery to the Sazerac family in 1972. Rights to all of the brands produced at the distillery were part of the deal which included W. L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, Cabin...
Opened on Derby Day, the Stitzel-Weller Distillery was a merger between two companies that Pappy Van Winkle owned, the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery and the liquor distribution company of W. L. Weller & Sons.
Pappy Van Winkle purchases the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, KY, which had started as a sour mash whiskey distillery in 1872. The products were distributed through the wholesale company Van Winkle owned, W. L. Weller & Sons. Just before Prohibition...
Born in 1874 in Louisville, KY, Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle began working as a salesman in 1893 for a liquor wholesaler known as W.L. Weller & Sons. His son, grandson, and now great grandson, run the Van Winkle brand operations for Buffalo Trace...
