Vintage Bourbon

Vintage bourbon is American straight whiskey, distilled predominantly from a corn-based mash and aged in new charred oak barrels across Kentucky's historic distilling regions, with expressions here spanning decades of production history. Federal law mandates the new charred oak requirement, which drives vanilla, caramel, and spice development over time, though older distillate draws additional complexity from evaporation and wood interaction. Wheated mashbill bourbons from the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery, such as the 1978-bottled Old Fitzgerald Prime, represent a now-defunct production site whose stocks are finite and irreplaceable. Hirsch's 1974 vintage, available in both blue and gold wax variants across 16- and 20-year expressions, originates from distillate made at Michter's Bomberger distillery in Pennsylvania. The Barclays 1956 Pint stands among the oldest examples, while Jefferson's Presidential Select 21 Year anchors the modern aged end of the category.