To modern whiskey drinkers, Cabin Still is a brand relegated to the bottom shelf. Today it is sold as a “bourbon with natural flavors,” industry shorthand for a whiskey that has likely been sweetened or otherwise adjusted to appeal to those who do not really want to drink bourbon at all.
Yet that bright orange label once stood for something very different. Cabin Still was, at one time, a respected and high-quality bourbon produced at arguably the most legendary distillery in American whiskey history, Stitzel-Weller.
So how did a brand that traces its origins to William Larue Weller himself end up so far down the shelf?
The Weller Origins
Cabin Still was among the original brands established by William Larue Weller in 1849 as part of his Louisville wholesale liquor business. In 1893, a young Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle began working as a salesman for Weller. After Weller’s death in 1899, and following a decade of transition, Pappy purchased W.L. Weller & Sons.
William’s son, George Weller, served as president until Prohibition. When national Prohibition arrived, the Weller business merged with Arthur Stitzel of the Stitzel Distillery. The newly formed firm was one of the few granted a federal medicinal license, allowing it to bottle whiskey legally throughout Prohibition.
This positioned the company brilliantly. As distilleries across Kentucky closed, the federal government mandated barrels be moved to concentration warehouses. Weller and Stitzel were able to acquire barrels from shuttered distilleries, bottling them for fledgling brand owners or incorporating the whiskey into their own labels such as Old Mock. Cabin Still continued to be bottled during Prohibition, drawing on stocks from various sources, including Davies County Distillery, Dowling Bros., and their own distillate from the Stitzel distillery.
Post-Repeal Strength
When Prohibition ended in 1933, the partnership moved quickly. On Derby Day in 1935, the new Stitzel-Weller Distillery opened in Shively, Kentucky. The facility produced a wheated bourbon recipe, generally traced to William Larue Weller’s early preference for wheat in bourbon. While marketing often credits W.L. Weller with inventing wheated bourbon, the historical record is more complex. Evidence shows that the Stitzel brothers produced wheated bourbon at their original distillery, though those barrels were never used for their major brands. This knowledge passed to Arthur Philip Stitzel, and when Pappy went into business with him, he likely inherited this expertise.
The distillery’s first master distiller, William “Boss” McGill, trained under M.C. Beam and a seasoned whiskey veteran, appears to have refined the wheated bourbon recipe that ultimately defined Stitzel-Weller’s style. Pappy later explained that this recipe was chosen because the whiskey performed well with minimal aging.
Pappy Van Winkle led the revival. Thanks to profits from medicinal bottling during Prohibition, the company enjoyed a substantial financial cushion. Unlike newer entrants, such as the Shapira brothers at Heaven Hill, Stitzel-Weller did not have to wait for fresh distillate to mature, as they already had barrels ready for market.
Old Fitzgerald launched in 1936 using these stockpiled reserves, while the first whiskey actually distilled at the new Stitzel-Weller facility appeared in 1939. In the decades that followed, Old Fitzgerald became the distillery’s flagship brand. Stitzel-Weller produced a single mashbill and bottled exclusively at 100 proof or higher, so age was the primary distinction between labels. Cabin Still served as the younger sibling, typically aged four to eight years, while Old Fitzgerald extended to 12 years and beyond.
Quality remained consistently high. Pappy’s famous mantra guided operations: “We make fine bourbon at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon.”
The Sportsman’s Dram
Cabin Still, marketed as the “sportsman’s choice,” was a refined yet approachable bourbon, ideal for a Louisville gentleman’s hip flask. Stitzel-Weller leaned into this imagery, frequently releasing decanters featuring wildlife or sporting themes. By the mid-1960s, decanters had become a common industry trend, as Jim Beam had achieved huge success selling limited-edition ceramic decanters to customers who might not otherwise purchase bourbon.
Both the Hillbilly decanter and the Cabin Still wildlife series have become remarkably sought after amongst collectors.
Although Cabin Still was the secondary brand to Old Fitzgerald, it was well-regarded. Its younger age and lower proof did not diminish its quality. Thanks to Stitzel-Weller’s original wheated bourbon recipe, Cabin Still remained a full-flavored bourbon, even at its typical five-year age and 90-proof bottling.
The Downturn
The bourbon market began to soften in the 1960s, coinciding with Pappy Van Winkle’s declining health. When he died in 1965, his son Julian Jr. inherited a company facing serious financial strain. For the first time, Stitzel-Weller broke from its 100 proof standard, launching Old Fitzgerald Prime at 86.8 proof.
The broader decline for brown spirits became most pronounced in the 1980s, accelerated by events such as the Scottish whisky loch, which led to dozens of distilleries closing. However, the challenges for the American industry began much earlier, in the post–World War II era. Major producers, including Schenley, Seagram, and National Distillers, heavily overproduced, leaving warehouses overflowing with aging barrels. During the Korean War in 1950, Kentucky distilleries ran at maximum capacity, fearing another government-mandated shutdown and a pivot to industrial ethanol production. When that shutdown never came, the market was left with an unprecedented surplus of whiskey that could not find buyers.
Old Fitzgerald’s commitment to quality, once a point of pride, became a liability. While companies like Seagram pivoted to American blended whiskies, which were essentially 70 percent vodka and 30 percent young bourbon, Stitzel-Weller continued to bottle high-quality bourbon that commanded a high price. American palates were trending lighter, and the robust, full-bodied bourbon that Pappy championed fell out of favor.
After several difficult years, the Van Winkle family sold the company in 1972 to Norton Simon, a major drinks conglomerate. This sale marked a turning point for the Stitzel-Weller distillery and, by extension, its Cabin Still brand.
The Kentucky River Distillery
Before acquiring Stitzel-Weller, Norton Simon had gained control of Canada Dry, the highly popular ginger ale brand, and with it the Kentucky River Distillery. The site traced its origins to Edward J. Curley, who built the E.J. Curley and Boone Knoll distilleries at Camp Nelson. Curley once produced the well-regarded Blue Grass whiskey, but financial trouble and unpaid taxes forced him to sell. The properties passed through the Whiskey Trust, later American Medicinal Spirits, and eventually National Distillers.
In the late 1950s, Canada Dry acquired the distillery as part of a push into spirits production. The bourbon produced there for Canada Dry, however, proved deeply flawed. Bottled at six years old and 86 proof, it reportedly carried a musty character that former workers attributed to warehousing issues. Ironically, these are the Camp Nelson warehouses now owned by Wild Turkey, which many Turkey enthusiasts herald as the brand’s greatest. I wrote about these warehouses in an earlier Whiskey Wash article here. After only a few years, Norton Simon shut the distillery down.
The problem was that large stocks of this poor-quality whiskey remained. Norton Simon, under pressure from shareholders, was not about to pour it down the drain. It had to go somewhere, and poor old Cabin Still, once the heralded brand bottled by Pappy himself, ultimately became its doomed destination.
Cabin Still Repositioned
When Norton Simon acquired Stitzel-Weller in 1972, it gained a prestigious distillery and a convenient outlet for surplus inventory.
Cost cutting began quickly. Production methods shifted. The mashbill was altered, barley malt reduced, and barrel entry proof increased. Fresh jug yeast was replaced with dried packet yeast and enzymes were added, forever changing the flavour of Stitzel-Weller’s whiskey. The quality-driven philosophy of the Van Winkle era gave way to corporate efficiency.
Cabin Still became the brand used to absorb unwanted Kentucky River stocks. From roughly 1972 through the late 1980s, the label was effectively a rebranded Canada Dry bourbon. Some Stitzel distillate was reportedly blended in during later years, but additional age could not fully mask the underlying character of the Kentucky River spirit.
A once proud wheated bourbon had become a vehicle for offloading surplus whiskey.
Closure and Modern Form
In 1984, the Distillers Company Limited, now known as Diageo, acquired Norton Simon’s distilling interests. Stitzel-Weller eventually ceased distillation in 1992, with production consolidated at Bernheim. Brands were gradually sold. I.W. Harper became the focus, and others, including Old Fitzgerald, were transferred to producers such as Heaven Hill.
Cabin Still reportedly ended up with David Sherman, later Luxco, and was contract produced at Heaven Hill for years. At some point in the modern era, the label reappeared as “bourbon whiskey with natural flavors,” a designation that strongly suggests added sweeteners. By most accounts, today’s Cabin Still bears little resemblance to its Stitzel-Weller predecessor. It now occupies the lowest tier of the shelf, retailing for just fifteen dollars a liter.
Fortunately, pre-1972 Cabin Still bottles still appear at auction from time to time. For those who want to experience what the brand once was, those Stitzel-era bottlings remain the true expression of Pappy’s philosophy: always fine bourbon, no matter where it sits on the shelf.
Read the full article at The Death of Cabin Still Bourbon: How Stitzel-Weller’s Buyers Destroyed a Beloved Brand
