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Please read and drink responsibly.
Rare Character Whiskey
STANFORD, Kentucky - Historic whiskey brand Fortuna Bourbon is set to re-enter the American whiskey market for the first time in over 50 years. Their new baseline 6 Year + Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey will be widely released in late September 2022.
Originally in business from the late 1800’s until the mid 1960’s, Fortuna was once a prolific and well known brand throughout the country. After shuttering the distillery doors during the dark days of whiskey in America, the brand is now being revitalized for a new generation of whiskey lovers.
Fortuna is being brought back to life by the people behind Rare Character Whiskey, an emergent whiskey brand founded in 2021 by spirits industry veterans Pablo Moix and Peter Nevenglosky. Joining the team in 2022 is Andy Shapira, a whiskey industry expert. Shapira gained invaluable experience and insight while working and growing up in his family’s three-generation old legacy business, Heaven Hill Distilleries.
Fortuna Bourbon was originally founded by Phil Hollenbach, a German immigrant, near the turn of the century. Hollenbach found great success in Louisville, Kentucky by bringing “A Taste of Good Fortune” to all with his remarkable bourbon whiskey.
Through extensive research that included correspondence with the members of the Hollenbach family, this revitalized iteration of Fortuna Bourbon aims to recreate the essence of Fortuna at its peak in the 1880s, down to the branding, bottles, point-of-sale materials and style of bourbon.
“There are just too many variables to perfectly recreate a liquid made at a distillery that closed over 100 years ago,” said Shapira. “We were fortunate to have had access to a few vintage bottlings of Fortuna, as well as the Hollenbach’s original flagship brand Glencoe. This helped produce a flavor profile to shoot for and shape the way we approach meticulously selecting the six barrels that make up each batch of Fortuna. We are proud of the results, as it is not just the liquid the brand represents, but our shared passion for American Whiskey and our belief that it is a perfect time to spread a “taste of good fortune.”
Fortuna will initially be available for consumers to purchase online via seelbachs.com in nearly all 50 states, as well as kandlwines.com for those living in California. It is being released with a MSRP of $84.99
The bourbon itself is a blended Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, proofed to 102 and aged to a minimum of 6 years. “It's so perfectly balanced it's almost crushable.” explained co-founder Pablo Moix. I come from a bar background, so I just approached it the same way I would do cocktails."
Moix, Nevenglosky, and Shapira are no strangers to quality whiskey; the three are responsible for Rare Character Whiskey, one of the quickest growing new whiskey brands in America. Through exclusive single barrel releases and innovative product lines such as The Finishing Series, The Native Wood Series, and The Exceptional Series, Rare Character has quickly made its name known in whiskey communities.
To learn more about Fortuna Bourbon and its storied history, visit fortunabourbon.com and follow @fortunabourbon on Instagram. The brand plans to release new products in 2023 as well.
About Rare Character Whiskey: Rare Character Whiskey is a purveyor of fine American whiskey, focused on unique selections tailored to each of our customers and partners. Through special relationships with top distillers across the country, Rare Character has exclusive access to expressions that have never been released to the public.
