SPARTA, KY (Sept. 9, 2026) – Growing up, Royce Neeley shared an unbreakable bond with his grandfather, Earl Sizemore, or to Royce, PaPaw.  Together they would tinker with cars, talk about the “old days” of moonshining, and share family lore; including the 10 previous generations of Neeley family moonshiners.  Once Royce took up the distilling mantle in 2015, legally this time, his PaPaw was right there, helping with distillation, tours, and good-naturedly doing whatever needed to be done.

Together, the two distilled over 1,000 barrels of whiskey together, many of which have already been bottled and enjoyed by fans nationwide.  When PaPaw passed away in 2024, Royce faced a dilemma: eventually, he would sell through all of the remaining barrels they distilled together.  In a tribute to PaPaw, Royce decided to select the 10 best barrels from their rickhouses, batch them in a neutral holding tank so they would not age further, and release a select amount each year, never using more than half of what’s in the tank.  He will then replenish the tank with the best tasting barrels each year, never draining the original supply.

Thus, PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve 10 Year Old Pot Still Bourbon was born.  As with all Neeley Family releases, the bourbons in the batch were triple pot distilled, making this the oldest triple-pot-distilled bourbon ever released.  PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve will make its debut this weekend, Sept. 11, at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KBF) in Bardstown, Ky., and it will also be available at the Neeley Family Distillery in Sparta, Ky. Patrons who dress up like PaPaw will receive 10% off the purchase of PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve at both locations.  Weighing in at 110 proof, this cask strength, wheated bourbon mash bill will retail for $299.99 for a 750 mL.

“It’s bittersweet to think of someday the barrels being depleted that PaPaw and I distilled together, but through replenishing our holding tank each year with the best barrels, it’s a way for PaPaw’s legacy to live on, and I know he would have loved to be celebrated this way,” said Royce Neeley, Master Distiller. “He loved coming to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and through the years, thousands of people got their picture taken with him and autographed bottles. His last event before he passed was the KBF, and although he was very sick, he attended every day with his trademark smirk, selling and signing.  That memory makes it even more meaningful to us to celebrate him this weekend with this release.”

PaPaw’s Legacy Reserve 10 Year-Old Triple Pot-Stilled Bourbon will go on sale at 11 a.m. on Sept. 11^th at both the Distillery and the Neeley Family Distillery booth at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. With only 750 total bottles produced, quantities are limited and available each day of the Bourbon Festival until it sells out.

About Neeley Family Distillery
Neeley Family Distillery is a small, family-owned and operated venue located in the rolling hills of the Kentucky bluegrass. The Neeley family distilled and bootlegged illegally in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky for eleven generations, until 2015, when Tenth Generation Roy Neeley and Eleventh Generation Royce Neeley made the family business legal for the first time.

Using old family mash recipes, Master Distiller Royce Neeley makes his spirits the historic way using pot stills, cypress fermenters, sweet mash, and the Neeley Family Yeast Strand, which is propagated at the distillery. All of the spirits are non-chill-filtered, preserving the unique natural flavor of each one.

Neeley Family Distillery has won numerous awards for its products, including multiple Double Gold medals and a Platinum Award from The San Francisco World Spirits Awards, Ascot Awards, New Orleans Bourbon Festival and many others.  For more information go to www.neeleyfamilydistillery.com or follow online @neeleyfamilydistillery.