Every new bourbon appears to have a complex story that involves important characters from whiskey the history, the recipes passed down from generation to generation and the claim to be the first to put something in a particular type of barrel. Sometimes the details are real, but more often there is a little embellishment. In the case of Old Commonwealth, as with almost all brands, the truth probably lies somewhere in between, but one thing is certain: this whiskey verifiably dates back to Julian Van Winkle II of Papa Van Winkle fame.
Old Commonwealth 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Fall 2024 is the first release from the Old Commonwealth Distillery, which is not actually a distillery but a non-distilling producer that sources its whiskey from others. The roots of this bourbon date back to the 1970s, when Julian Van Winkle II, the son of “Pappy” Van Winkle, began bottling the whiskey produced at Stitzel-Weller under that name. In 1983, his son, Julian Van Winkle III, purchased an old distillery in Lawrenceberg, Kentucky and named it Commonwealth Distillery, using it to produce various brands over the years. He launched Old Commonwealth in 1997 as a 10-year-old wheat bourbon (similar to Dad) bottled at 107 proof, continuing to source and bottle this whiskey until 2002, the same year the Van Winkle family partnered with Sazerac to produce Papa Van Winkle has Buffalo track.
Fast forward to 2019, when Zachary Joseph and Andrew English purchased the rights to the distillery name and partnered with Troy LeBlanc to source and bottle whiskeys under the labels formerly produced at the former distillery. “Our mission is to deliver premium whiskey that shares our story, one glass at a time, and we are excited about this first step in that journey,” Joseph said in a statement. “Julian is a whiskey legend and friend of Old Commonwealth. We showed him the facilities and what we are doing to preserve and extend the history and heritage of the Van Winkle family.
The first release is this new 10-year-old bourbon, made from a mashbill of 75 percent corn, 15 percent rye and 10 percent malted barley at an undisclosed Kentucky distillery, which differs from the mashbill of wheat from the original. According to Joseph, the team tried to test the whiskey up to 107 proof of the original, but they felt it performed best at cask strength, which is a whopping 131.83 proof. It’s quite strong, but it doesn’t mask the flavor of the whiskey, which features notes of dark chocolate, tobacco, leather, ripe stone fruit, and a touch of cherry syrup on the palate.
Old Commonwealth’s other new release is called Kentucky Nectar, a honey-barrel-finished Kentucky bourbon based on an old brand that has nothing to do with the Van Winkle family. This one just came out, so it might be easier to find than Old Commonwealth 10 Year, which sold out on the brand’s online retailer shortly after its launch. You can still find bottles available for purchase in Kentucky stores, where you may have to pay more than the original asking price of $200, or you can add your name to the brand name. waiting list to find out about upcoming releases.
