Produced by a family of farmers in Pennsylvania with leftover crops from their harvest, Old Overholt Rye quickly grew in popularity and spread across the nation, investing in rye crops. This eventually led Old Overholt to become the longest continually maintained rye brand in America.

Built by Jacob, Henry O. and later joined by Abraham, this was where they would begin making their family Rye Whiskey.

These include gunfighter and gambler John Henry “Doc” Holliday, as well as Civil War General and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and President John F. Kennedy.

A family of farmers, with experience in distilling, they settled in West Overton, Pennsylvania, and formed a community in Scarsdale.
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Abraham grew up on the farm in the Mennonite tradition, which taught him the value of hard work. A weaver by trade, Abraham was a stoic and hardworking man, his countenance dubbed ‘the Abraham Frown’. In 1810, at age 26, Abraham takes over the family distilling operation. Many called him an ‘unruly Mennonite’ as he stood by his principles in wanting to create positive change for his community.

In 1803 the Overholt family built a log still-house and started making small amounts of whiskey. By the 1820s the distillery was producing 15 gallons of rye whiskey per day.

To keep up with production, the size of the still increased three times between 1811 and 1828, and in 1832, Abraham rebuilt the distillery in stone and expanded the capacity more than tenfold. Abraham’s efforts were highly successful; by 1843, newspapers in Baltimore were advertising the whiskey as ‘Overholt Old Rye’ – a big achievement considering only the leading distilleries were advertised by name at the time.

In 1859 the company became known as A. Overholt & Co., and began operating out of the new Broad Ford distillery, a remarkably tall brick structure with a production capacity of 860 gallons per day. Abraham’s bedroom faced the West Overton Distillery, which allowed him to check the quality of the whiskey as soon as he woke up in the morning.

Abraham passed away in 1870, marking the end of the Overholt family reign.  

Jacob was lively and full of energy. With a natural talent for distilling, he quickly became the Master Distiller, overseeing the family’s whiskey production.

Jacob joined the partnership with his father and brother around 1850, and the company name was subsequently changed to A. Overholt & Sons. In 1854, Jacob became fully invested in the construction of the new Broad Ford distillery, and gave up his partnership to create his own enterprise with his cousin Henry O. Overholt – Jacob owning 2/3rd share and Henry O. 1/3rd. Jacob dies in 1859, 1 day after Abe’s 75th birthday, and that same year Abraham buys Jacob’s 2/3rd share and partners with his nephew Henry O.

All of Abraham’s sons were involved in the family affairs from a young age, helping with the farm and the whiskey business, however none as much as Henry and Jacob. Together, Abraham, Henry and Jacob nurtured and grew the Overholt enterprises – especially the whiskey production – into a thriving business.

Abraham saw great potential in Henry, and invited him to become a book keeper at the Broad Ford distillery (late 1860s), where he honed his business acumen. He would later bring Andrew Mellon and Charles Mauck into the Overholt distillery business as partners. In 1899, significant work was begun on the buildings of Broad Ford. The entire plant was dismantled, and reconstructed, additional buildings were built as rack warehouses. This job was finished in 1905. The capacity of the new plant was 1,500 bushels of grain, or 6,450 gallons of whiskey daily.

Henry was industrious and successful business ventures allowed him to become a millionaire by his 32nd birthday. He founded the coke manufacturing company, H. C. Frick & Company, and was chairman of the Carnegie Brothers Steel Company where he became friends with Andrew Carnegie. Henry also played a major role in the formation of U.S. Steel, and the construction of the Pittsburgh Skyline. In fact, it has been said that Henry and Carnegie were very influential in the industrialization of America as a whole. Henry Frick was a ruthless businessman, considered the most hated man in America at points in history.

Henry and Carnegie had a falling out, and as Carnegie was getting old he wrote Henry and asked to see him. Henry simply replied, ‘I’ll see you in hell’.

Henry was a lifelong opponent of organized labour, a stance which led him to be attacked; he was shot twice, but fortunately not dangerously wounded.

Henry Clay Frick owned the company from 1881 to 1919.

Abraham Overholt Tinstman was Abraham’s grandson. After Jacob’s passing, he became manager at Broad Ford, overseeing not only whiskey manufacturing, but also the steam-driven sawmill and the farming that took place at Broad Ford

Old Overholt is produced under the oversight of Freddie Noe, the brand guardian of today. Freddie oversees the distilling, the quality control and the profile of Old Overholt, guarding the integrity of the brand and the value of the liquid with a ‘no compromise’ approach.

Freddie Noe learnt the bourbon-making craft from his father, Fred Noe, just as Henry and Jacob learnt the craft from their father, Abraham. In recent years, he has launched his innovative Little Book bourbon, and several editions to follow (The Easy, Noe Simple Task and The Road Home).

Both Fred and Freddie have protected and carried on the integrity, honesty and perseverance exemplified by James B. Beam, and continue to move bourbon forward through innovation.

As his whiskey became popular and demand grew, Abraham began expanding the distillery. To keep up with production, the size of the still increased three times between 1811 and 1828. In 1832, Abraham decided to rebuild the distillery in stone, and expanded the capacity more than tenfold.Two years later, Abraham built a brick flouring mill, so that grain could be chopped and milled at Overton – eliminating the tedious task of hauling grain to and from mills along bumpy country roads.West Overton is the only pre-Civil War village that is still intact in the sate of Pennsylvania. Helen Frick (Henry Clay Frick’s daughter) bought it to honour her father, and turned it into an orphanage. Today, the village is a museum complex, showcasing the 19th-century rural industrial village of Overton, and the story of the Overholt family and their whiskey business. One hundred years after the West Overton site distillery closed in 1919 due to Prohibition, the distillery opened again in 2019. Independent distillation at the site under the West Overton Historical Society, with a small still in a different building than the original distillery is in production.

The river was key in exporting and connected many other main rivers throughout the Southern part of East America. It also gave the distillery access to a spring fed water source.
Later, rail systems were also built, greatly benefitting the production and distribution of Old Overholt.
A three chamber still was used on this site, significantly impacting the whiskey style and liquid profile. This was where Jacob and Henry O. first began making their ‘Old Monongahela Pure Rye’ whiskey.
The Broad Ford distillery was closed for distilling in 1951 but kept open for aging and bottling until the late 1950s to early 1960s.

Located on the Bardstown-Springfield branch of the L&N Railroad, it allowed the bourbon to be easily transported far and wide.

During Prohibition, the property was purchased by Jim Beam. The distillery lay dormant through Prohibition but began operation again in 1935. The Beam family famously got the continuous still running in 120 days – working from late December 1934 to March 1935.

In 1988, Jim Beam acquired National Distillers, whose portfolio included ‘The Olds’ – Old Grand-Dad, Old Overholt and Old Crow. The production of these whiskeys eventually moved from the distillery in Frankfort to the Clermont distillery, where they have been produced and warehoused ever since.

Here, the Old Overholt liquid changed to the Kentucky Rye mash bill and an 80 proof product.

Some of the whiskey is however made at the Boston plant.

Today, the drink experience is all about appreciating the fullness of the House Style. To this day, Old Overholt is enjoyed neat to appreciate its straightforward, deep and assertive Rye flavour, or mixed into a cocktail.

Since 1810, when Abraham first took charge of the family whiskey production, Old Overholt has embodied and honoured the industrious and entrepreneurial spirit of the Overholts.