 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rebel" bourbon – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 An older bottle still sporting the Rebel Yell brand | |
| Type | Bourbon whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | MGP Ingredients |
| Country of origin | Kentucky, United States |
| Introduced | 1936 |
| Alcohol by volume | 40% |
| Proof (US) | 80 |
| Related products | Ezra Brooks, David Nicholson, and Blood Oath Bourbons |
Rebel, formerlyRebel Yell until 2020, is a brand ofKentuckystraightbourbon whiskey owned and marketed byMGP Ingredients. Rebel Yell is currently distilled and aged at the Lux Row Distillery, inBardstown, Kentucky, which opened in 2018.[1] As is typical for a bourbon, it is sold at 40%alcohol by volume (80U.S. proof). Before the opening of the Lux Row Distillery, the brand was produced under contract byHeaven Hill at its Bernheim distillery inLouisville.
The brand was originally produced in the 1930s at theStitzel–Weller Distillery and has a wheatedmash bill, like some other brands from that distillery. As indicated by its name (especially its prior name), the brand was historically marketed as being associated with theConfederate States of America. Until the 1980s, it was distributed only in theSouthern United States.
The W.L. Weller & Sons company was founded in 1849 byWilliam Larue Weller, who pioneered usingwheat instead ofrye in hismash for a lighter flavor than the older style of bourbons. The W.L. Weller company merged with the Stitzel distilling company (est. 1872) to form the Stitzel-Weller distilling company in 1910.
The "Rebel Yell" brand was created at Stitzel-Weller in the 1930s with the idea of distilling it in limited batches for exclusive distribution in theSouthern United States.Charles R. Farnsley, a former mayor of Louisville who was related to the owners of the distillery, owned the brand.[2] In the early 1980s, after some other changes of ownership following the break-up of Stitzel-Weller around 1972, the brand was purchased by the David Sherman Corporation ofSt. Louis, Missouri (now Luxco). By 1984, Rebel Yell was distributed nationally.
In 2020, in order to distance the brand from Confederate iconography, the name was shortened to simply "Rebel".[3]
In April 2021,MGP Ingredients completed its acquisition of Luxco.[4]
Keith Richards ofThe Rolling Stones was once known to be an avid drinker of Rebel Yell. In fact,Billy Idol has said in his episode ofVH1 Storytellers that his hit "Rebel Yell" was inspired upon joining Richards,Mick Jagger andRon Wood 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.[5]
... Idol explained that he came to use the title 'Rebel Yell' ... not because of any knowledge of the Confederacy but because of his enthusiasm for Rebel Yell bourbon.
