(Credit: Diageo)
Diageo owns the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, the Louisville suburb, and enjoys the services of Nicole Austin as Master Distillery at Tennessee’s Cascade Hollow Distillery (home of George Dickel). They have combined the revered name of the former and the talents of the latter in the creation of the second expression of the Stitzel-Weller Reserve line: Stitzel Reserve 31-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskey. The first installment was a still ultra-aged, but substantially younger 24 year old bourbon.
Another job title for Austin is Diageo’s Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities, and although the bourbon in question was distilled right around the time Austin would have been in kindergarten or grade school, she was the one choosing and blending the barrel stock. Just 13 barrels distilled in 1992 were used in making this expression, dumped in 2024 and bottled at cask strength 163.2 proof (81.6% ABV), for a production yield of 176 bottles.
“When I discovered these barrels, I saw the potential for something extraordinarily rare,” said Austin. “What makes this release so special is not just its age, but the fact that it reached 31 years with such integrity. 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. That combination of place, patience and close attention is what gives this bourbon its power, elegance and continued evolution in the glass.”
Stitzel-Weller 31 Year Old will be available only at the distillery for $3,000 per bottle, limit one per person. It went on sale this past Friday, April 30.
