J.W. Kelly & Co. Bourbon and The Read House Hotel are collaborating this year to celebrate the hotel’s 150th anniversary with the release of a Limited-Edition Single Barrel Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
The expression is a single barrel select pick (114.8 proof) from barrels that are five to eight years old, then transferred into a new American oak barrel and aged for another 8 to 12 months. It was hand-selected in February at J.W. Kelly’s Rickhouse in Chattanooga. Each bottle number of this single barrel will be hand-written on the label.
To celebrate the occasion, The Read House has also created the One Fifty Cocktail featuring the bourbon, Orange Curacao, Campari, fresh lemon juice and absinthe bitters.
“We are honored to come full circle to salute the hotel’s 150th Anniversary with this limited-edition single barrel cask-strength whiskey,” said Ed Kohl, Managing Director of J.W. Kelly Whiskey Company and Keepers Quest Brands, Inc.
“The J.W. Kelly Distillery was once located across the street from The Read House, so it is fitting that we commemorate our 150th anniversary with a limited-edition single barrel whiskey pick. We look forward to sipping this delicious whiskey with our guests, residents and whiskey fans,” added Jim Bambrey, General Manager of The Read House.
Originally opened on January 1, 1872, The Read House celebrates being the longest continuously operating hotel in the Southeast in 2022. It has established itself as the premier historic hotel in downtown Chattanooga and has hosted prominent individuals including Oprah Winfrey, Winston Churchill, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Ronald Reagan, and Al Capone.
This is not the first partnership for the two companies, J.W. Kelly & Co. and The Read House began working together in 1890, when J.W. Kelly purchased and operated The Read House’s bar and billiards room, and two years later, leased the hotel’s Cigar Stand.
The Read House’s 150th Anniversary J.W. Kelly Limited Edition Double Oaked Straight Bourbon Whiskey is available at liquor stores for $60.00.
