Rebel Yell (whiskey)
Encyclopedia
Rebel Yell is a brand
of Kentucky
made Straight
Bourbon Whiskey
that is made using more wheat
than most Bourbons. The brand name is currently owned and marketed by Luxco
, and the bourbon itself is distilled
and bottled under contract by Heaven Hill
at its Bernheim distillery in Louisville, Kentucky
. Rebel Yell is bottled at 40% alcohol by volume
(80 proof).
, who pioneered using wheat
instead of rye
in his mash
for a different flavor than the older style of bourbons. The "Rebel Yell" name was created by Charles R. Farnsley
(a former mayor
of Louisville) around the 100th anniversary of the company, with the idea to distill it in limited batches for exclusive distribution in the south
. This plan lasted until the early 1980s, when the brand was purchased by the David Sherman Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri
(now Luxco
). By 1984, Rebel Yell was distributed nationally.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
made Straight
Straight whiskey
Straight whiskey is whisky created by distilling a fermented cereal grain mash to create a spirit not exceeding 80% alcohol content by volume and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an abv concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.Filtering and dilution...
Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
that is made using more wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
than most Bourbons. The brand name is currently owned and marketed by Luxco
Luxco
Luxco, Inc. is a privately owned producer and marketer of distilled alcoholic beverages and liqueurs. Formerly called the David Sherman Corporation, the Company was renamed in 2006. The company was founded in 1958 in St. Louis, Missouri, by David Sherman Sr. and Paul A. Lux...
, and the bourbon itself is distilled
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
and bottled under contract by Heaven Hill
Heaven Hill
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., is a private family-owned and operated distillery company headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a variety of other distilled spirits. Its current distillery facility, called the...
at its Bernheim distillery in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. Rebel Yell is bottled at 40% alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
(80 proof).
History
The original company that produced the brand was founded in 1849 by William Larue WellerWilliam Larue Weller
W. L. Weller is a brand of wheated bourbon. The brand was originally owned by the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company, which was sold several times after 1972. The brand is currently owned by the Sazerac Company and produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Like all bourbons...
, who pioneered using wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
instead of rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
in his mash
Mash ingredients
Mash ingredients, mash bill, or grain bill are those materials used in brewing from which a wort can be obtained for fermenting into alcohol...
for a different flavor than the older style of bourbons. The "Rebel Yell" name was created by Charles R. Farnsley
Charles R. Farnsley
Charles Rowland Peaslee "Charlie" Farnsley , a Democrat, served as mayor of Louisville, Kentucky and as a member of the United States House of Representatives....
(a former mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Louisville) around the 100th anniversary of the company, with the idea to distill it in limited batches for exclusive distribution in the south
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. This plan lasted until the early 1980s, when the brand was purchased by the David Sherman Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
(now Luxco
Luxco
Luxco, Inc. is a privately owned producer and marketer of distilled alcoholic beverages and liqueurs. Formerly called the David Sherman Corporation, the Company was renamed in 2006. The company was founded in 1958 in St. Louis, Missouri, by David Sherman Sr. and Paul A. Lux...
). By 1984, Rebel Yell was distributed nationally.
Uses in fiction and art
- In the novels of Douglas PrestonDouglas PrestonDouglas Preston is an American author who has written seventeen popular techno-thriller and horror novels, four alone and the rest with Lincoln Child...
and Lincoln ChildLincoln ChildLincoln Child is an author of seventeen techno-thriller and horror novels. He often writes with Douglas Preston. Many of their novels have become bestsellers, and one, Relic, was adapted into a feature film...
, Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta favors this particular bourbon (e.g. Book of the Dead). - In the extended edition of Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's post-apocalyptic novel The StandThe StandThe Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
, a maniacal character dubbed "The Kid" has a fanatical taste for Rebel Yell. - Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
of The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
was once known to be an avid drinker of Rebel Yell. In fact, Billy IdolBilly IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
has said in his episode of VH1 StorytellersVH1 StorytellersStorytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
that his hit "Rebel YellRebel Yell (song)"Rebel Yell" is the first song on the Billy Idol album of the same name. When first released in 1984, it charted outside the UK Top 40, but a re-issue in 1985 reached #6. It did not fare as well in the US, only reaching #46...
" was inspired upon joining Richards, Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Ron WoodRon WoodRonald David "Ronnie" Wood is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, and current member of The Rolling Stones. He also plays lap and pedal steel guitar....
in taking swigs from a bottle of Rebel Yell at a gathering they all attended. He liked the sound of the brand name, and said he recalled that he actually asked if they (Jagger and Richards) had no objections to his use of the brand name for a future song title. "I've got it now . . . little did they know." - In Dr. DogDr. DogDr. Dog is a psychedelic rock band from West Grove, Pennsylvania. Its lineup currently consists of Toby Leaman , Scott McMicken , Frank McElroy , Zach Miller , and Eric Slick . Lead vocal duties are shared between Leaman and McMicken, with all members contributing harmonies...
's song "100 Years," the singer makes a reference to Rebel Yell: "When the sun shines down on what's left of me/About a hundred years from now/Gonna cut my water with Rebel Yell/And claw my way back to town." - In one of Norm MacdonaldNorm MacDonaldNorman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
's final Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketches, he hosted a game show entitled "Who's More Grizzled?" featuring Garth BrooksGarth BrooksTroyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
and Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as two old men in a trivia contest to find out who indeed was more grizzled. The grand prize for the show was salted meats and a bottle of Rebel Yell. - William G. Tapply's fictional Boston attorney Brady Coyne's favorite libation, in more than fifteen mystery novels, was Rebel Yell.
- Rebel Yell Bourbon is featured in the lyrics to "Honky Tonk Hell" a song performed by Webb WilderWebb WilderThere are Roots-Rockers, and then there's Webb Wilder.Hardly a purist, he has described the music he and his band, The Beatnecks, make as, "Rock for Roots fans and Roots for Rock fans." In essence: Rock and Roll. There’s nothing new about combining R & B, Rock and Roll, Country, Blues, Pop and Rock...
on his 1995 album "Town & Country": "One wife, two on the side; Too many stories I can't tell; Too much loss of memory; Too many bottles of rebel yell; One more night in a roadhouse; I figure I might as well; I know when it's all over for me; I'll be headin' down to honky tonk hell."
See also
- W. L. WellerWilliam Larue WellerW. L. Weller is a brand of wheated bourbon. The brand was originally owned by the Stitzel-Weller Distilling Company, which was sold several times after 1972. The brand is currently owned by the Sazerac Company and produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Like all bourbons...
a wheated bourbon from the founder - Old FitzgeraldOld FitzgeraldOld Fitzgerald is a brand of sour mash bourbon currently distilled in Louisville, Kentucky by Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. Beginning in 1870, Old Fitzgerald was first produced for rail and steamship lines and private clubs primarily located in the south by John E. Fitzgerald in Frankfort,...
another wheated bourbon - Maker's MarkMaker's MarkMaker’s Mark is a small batch bourbon whiskey that is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky by Beam Inc.. It is sold in distinctively squarish bottles, which are sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.- History...
a well known bourbon that uses wheat