A 12 year old expression of wheated bourbon produced at the Buffalo Trace distillery. This highly sought after release is produced to a heritage recipe pioneered by William Larue Weller and then perfected by Pappy Van Winkle. This 12 year old release is bottled at 90 proof.

Weller

One of the world’s most sought-after bourbons, Weller has stood as a symbol of quality for more than a century. Its story begins with William Larue Weller, who founded his liquor wholesale business in 1849. Operating as W.L. Weller & Sons, the firm purchased whiskey from distilleries on the open market, bottling it under several labels including Weller, Cabin Still, and Mammoth Cave. When William died in 1899, his sons took over the business until 1908, when it was purchased by Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle and Alex T. Farnsley—both former Weller salesmen.

Van Winkle and Farnsley continued the model of buying whiskey from distilleries and bottling it under their own brands. During Prohibition, they maintained operations through a partnership with the Stitzel brothers, who ran the A. Ph. Stitzel firm at their RD#17 distillery on Story Avenue. Because the Stitzel facility was designated a government concentration warehouse, it was permitted to bottle medicinal whiskey—allowing the W.L. Weller brand to survive the dry years through limited medicinal releases of both rye and bourbon.

When Prohibition ended in 1933, the A. Ph. Stitzel firm merged with W.L. Weller & Sons to create the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. A new facility was constructed in Shively, Kentucky, opening on Derby Day in 1935, while the original Story Avenue distillery was sold to Frankfort Distillers.

At Shively, the distillery’s flagship bourbon became Old Fitzgerald, with Cabin Still positioned as its younger counterpart. What set Stitzel-Weller apart was its exclusive use of a wheated mash bill—a notable departure from the traditional rye grain recipes of the time. The Weller name continued under various iterations, most famously with the 7-Year-Old, 107-Proof “Gold Vein” edition. Other notable releases included the Special Reserve and a 10-Year-Old, 110-Proof bottling.

In 1992, United Distillers (now Diageo) shuttered the historic Stitzel-Weller facility as part of a strategic shift away from bourbon. They continued bottling Weller throughout the 1990s using remaining Stitzel-Weller stocks, before selling the brand to Sazerac in 1999. Having already acquired the Buffalo Trace Distillery earlier that decade, Sazerac reintroduced Weller as its signature wheated bourbon, produced on site in Frankfort.

Today, Weller stands among the most coveted bourbons in the world. The modern lineup spans a full range of proofs and ages—from the approachable 90-proof Special Reserve to the barrel-proof expressions featured annually in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. More than 175 years since its founding, the Weller name continues to embody the craftsmanship and heritage of America’s finest bourbon.

Buffalo Trace

Arguably the most prized distillery in the bourbon world, Buffalo Trace sits proudly in Frankfort, Kentucky. Distilling has taken place on this historic site since 1787, with warehouses and whiskey barrels stored there from the early 1800s onward. The property officially became a distillery in 1857 under Jacob Swigert. In 1869, Colonel Edmund H. Taylor Jr. acquired the site and renamed it the Old Fire Copper Distillery (O.F.C.).

By 1873, Taylor had demolished the old buildings and begun an ambitious rebuild, introducing modern innovations such as column stills, copper fermentation vats, and heated warehouses—technologies inspired by his visits to distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. However, the renovation proved financially ruinous, and in December 1877, the St. Louis liquor firm Gregory & Stagg rescued him from bankruptcy.

The firm’s co-owner, George T. Stagg, took control of most of Taylor’s operations. Although Taylor remained at O.F.C., his stake was now minimal. In 1882, tragedy struck when lightning burned the distillery to the ground. Taylor assisted in the rebuild, but in 1885 Stagg bought out Taylor’s remaining shares in exchange for the Old Taylor Distillery. The O.F.C. distillery later changed hands in 1890, when the Duffy firm took over. Stagg retired from the board in 1892 and passed away in 1895.

A young Albert B. Blanton joined the company in 1897 at just sixteen years old. In 1904, the distillery was renamed the George T. Stagg Distillery in honor of its former owner. Blanton rose steadily through the ranks, becoming plant manager by 1917 and president by the time Prohibition loomed in 1920. Under his leadership, the distillery was one of the few granted a federal license to produce medicinal whiskey, which kept it afloat during the dry years.

In 1929, the U.S. government authorized six Kentucky distilleries to produce whiskey to replenish depleted stocks—George T. Stagg among them. That same year, The Schenley Products Company acquired the operation. Schenley would remain in control until 1982, when the distillery was sold to New York businessmen Freddie Falk and Robert Baranaska under their Age International firm. A decade later, in 1992, Japan’s Takara Shuzo acquired Age International and the George T. Stagg distillery—only to sell the distillery soon after to the Sazerac Company, while retaining the rights to the Ancient Age brand and its high-rye mash bills.

In June 1999, Sazerac officially renamed the site Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The following decades brought steady innovation and growing acclaim. Buffalo Trace experimented extensively with wood types, barrel treatments, and aging conditions. In 2002, they partnered with Julian Van Winkle to supply whiskey for his Van Winkle and Pappy brands. The launch of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, followed by the E.H. Taylor line, cemented the distillery’s reputation for excellence.

In recent years, surging global demand has pushed even core expressions into allocated status. Whether through its legendary partnership with the Van Winkles or its consistently award-winning limited releases, Buffalo Trace has become synonymous with craftsmanship, heritage, and the prestige of Kentucky bourbon at its finest.