It's a nice day to start again and, get a Rebel...
Once upon a time, the famous Rebel Bourbon was sold under the Rebel Yell brand. The original Rebel Bourbon was made by the W. L. Weller & Sons Company and it was actually William Larue Weller himself who pioneered replacing rye with wheat in Bourbon. And though the distillery popped into existence in 1849, it wasn’t until the mid-1900s that they started bottling American Whiskeys under the Rebel Yell brand. The formula and branding were actually created by a character named Charles R. Farnsley — who served as both Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, and as a Congressman… politicians and alcohol, right? Today, the brand name is different, but the golden formula is still very much the same.
Now, for some rock star-infused story time: Billy Idol was doing shots with the Rolling Stones at a party. Keith Richards just loved him some hard liquor and he was fond of Rebel Yell — he’s the one who brought the bottle. Billy liked the name and asked the gents if he could borrow it for a song title – you know, the one where he's asking for more, more, more. If you are a music fan like we are, that’s reason enough to buy it right there.
The Rebel Bouron Small Batch Reserve, a favorite of both Keith and Billy, is made after William Larue Weller's original recipe, including corn, wheat and malt in the mash bill. Bottled at a pleasing 45.3% and packed with classic notes of caramel, toasty oak and tobacco with a big spiced finish to boot, we can see why those British gents love to enjoy a bottle or two of this bad boy.