The Story

Heritage. To some, it’s a fancy word historians use to describe the past. To us, it’s an ethos. A spirit that guides our culture, decision-making and commitment to craft. Heritage still means something to our extraordinary customers around the world. The exact nuance may vary from Montana to Manchester, but the sentiments are the same – style and substance matter.

John B. Stetson invented the cowboy hat back in the 1860s in response to the harsh conditions of the American West. His invention was and continues to be a remarkable success because he prioritized uncompromising quality, reverence for tradition, and creative inspiration. He drew on traditional European methods and added his own flair to create a stylish necessity that has endured for 160 years and is still going strong.

For generations, we have done our best to honor this approach, balancing tradition, craft and creativity. Stetson has endured in part because patience is our process. We make haste slowly, deliberately entering new categories when the time feels right—when the critical elements of craft and commerce allow us to bring something exceptional into the world.

That time has now come.

Whiskey has been a cultural & commercial force in the American West since the country’s founding. These two tributaries converge into a wild river propelled by a swashbuckling cast of Stetson-wearing trailblazers—frontier farmers, mad chemists, renegade bootleggers, Mississippi boat captains, no-nonsense women and legendary pitch men. A colorful tapestry of American culture, geography, enterprise and accident.

The names and roles may have changed, but a Stetson still crowns these characters across the continent, and around the world. Many still rise at dawn, work the land, raise their children, or thrive in a vibrant metropolis negotiating deals and building the next chapter of the American dream.

Our whiskey is crafted for them…and anyone who knows a Stetson is worn in the mind as well as on the head.

Stetson Bourbon. It’s about time.