Spirits · Kentucky
I.W. Harper
A historic Kentucky bourbon revived for American drinkers after decades abroad.
- Founded by
- Isaac Wolfe Bernheim
- Based in
- Kentucky
Their story
I.W. Harper traces back to Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, a German immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1867 and built the Bernheim Brothers liquor business in Louisville, Kentucky. The "I.W." is thought to come from his own first names, paired with a different surname for marketing.
The brand was one of the few allowed to keep making whiskey during Prohibition, under a medicinal license. Bernheim sold it to Schenley in 1937, and later owners shifted its focus overseas, especially to Japan, and pulled it from the U.S. Diageo, the current owner, brought I.W. Harper back to American shelves in 2015.
How it's made
I.W. Harper is a Kentucky straight bourbon. For its 2015 return, the whiskey was distilled at the Bernheim distillery in Louisville and partly aged at the historic Stitzel-Weller warehouses.
Why we carry them
We like I.W. Harper for its long backstory and easygoing style. It's a good bourbon for an Old Fashioned.
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