Our Story
The story of Bourbon de Luxe begins in the early 1900s, when it was created by a Ft. Worth, Texas-based whiskey merchant named Milton Epstein.
Under Epstein’s ownership, Bourbon de Luxe grew in popularity throughout the early 1900s until Prohibition hit in 1920.
In 1926, the Bourbon de Luxe brand was acquired by Kentucky’s R.E. Wathen Co., and was folded into the American Medicinal Spirits Co., where it continued to flourish.
As the story continues, in 1929, American Medicinal Spirits – the largest bottler of medicinal whiskey in the country – was merged into a new entity called National Distillers. Bourbon de Luxe became a staple brand of the powerhouse Kentucky bourbon producer National Distillers (whose portfolio also included Old Grand Dad, Old Crow and Old Taylor). In 1987, National Distillers sold its brands to Jim Beam Co., which continued to produce and sell Bourbon de Luxe until the early 2000s.
Fast forward to 2024.
Turner Wathen and Jordan Morris – business partners since 2016 and the powerhouse behind the award-winning Rolling Fork Rum brand– wanted to create a bourbon when they first met, but they had conditions. They wanted to revive a historic brand – ideally one that had been part of the Wathen family’s American Medicinal Spirits - and they wanted it to be exceptionally good bourbon at a fair price.
While waiting for the right brand – and the right bourbon - Wathen and Morris became award-winning blenders and bottlers of rums sourced from around the world with their label Rolling Fork Rum.
When they secured the trademark for Bourbon de Luxe in 2021, they knew the time had come to re-launch this historic brand.
“Bourbon de Luxe is one of a few brands that my family produced that Jordan and I had admired for a long time,” said Rolling Fork Spirits Co-Founder Turner Wathen. “We have always wanted to do a bourbon, but knew we would not act on a brand revival unless we were able to source really high-quality Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Once we secured the trademark and the bourbon – we were off to the races.”
The first new bottling under the Bourbon de Luxe brand is an 8-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon sourced from a distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Bottled at cask-strength (119 proof), it offers sweet notes of caramel, vanilla, cream, and orange peel that is balance by strong notes of seasoned oak and light pepper. Three barrels were blended for the first batch of 528 bottles, which is available exclusively on Seelbachs.com for $64.99 while supplies last.
This is the first of many excellent bourbons that will be bottled by Bourbon de Luxe.