The principal author of the Declaration of Independence and one of the greatest Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson was elected the third President of the United States in 1800. During his tenure, Jefferson authorized the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, dispatched Lewis and Clark westward in order to explore the remainder of the continent and repealed the Whisky Excise Tax.

After Jefferson retired from public office in 1815, he often tended to the garden that he had cultivated on his Monticello estate. At the time, it was customary for wealthy farmers, including Jefferson, to distill the excess grains they harvested from their farms into spirits (George Washington was one of the country’s largest distillers of rye whiskey). As a result, each farmer’s spirits were unique and reflected the local terroir of their farm. The Jefferson’s brand pays homage to Jefferson and the exquisite whiskey he distilled.

Jefferson’s Bourbon is a blender and bottler of spirits. Launched in 1997 by Trey and his father Chet Zoeller, a bourbon historian. First released in 1997, Jefferson’s has several offerings in their lineup, and utilizes very innovative and experimental blending and aging techniques. For example, their Jefferson’s Ocean expression is a bourbon, aged on a ship at sea, exposed to extreme weather conditions, crafting a truly distinct spirit.

As Jefferson Bourbon’s Master Distiller, Trey Zoeller is an aficionado of the Upper Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Pritchard Hill region of California. For their limited edition Jefferson’s Pritchard Hill, Trey collaborated with Cyril Chappellet of the Chappellet Estate Winery, using their wine casks to age the special bourbon expression.

This Jeffersons Pritchard Hill release is aged using quite a unique maturation technique; a twin wood aging process, that incorporates a blend of three complex, elegant bourbons that have been aged for one year in new American Oak barrels, and finished in ex-Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon French Oak casks. The special casks were once situated at the highly elevated, rocky slopes of the Chappellet Vineyard in St. Helena, Napa Valley. “The wine barrels that matured the most sought-after wine in the Chappellet portfolio lend a sweetness to the bourbon by adding notes of dark berry, espresso, and chocolate” (Jefferson’s).