The story of Larceny begins with John E. Fitzgerald: a man with good taste who inspired a line-up of celebrated Wheated Bourbons. Fitzgerald was a bonded U.S. Treasury Agent who had access to the rickhouses, where Bourbon barrels were stored & aged. His position gave him the means and the opportunity to steal tastes of some of the best Bourbon. Using his keys, Fitzgerald would let himself into the rickhouses, thieve Bourbon from the best barrels, and take jugs of it home for himself. When it came time to dump the barrels, some were found to be unusually light—and exceptionally smooth. These barrels became known as ‘Fitzgerald Barrels.’ Even when the brand was later sold to famous whiskey man Pappy Van Winkle, the Fitzgerald name—and his reputation—endured.
