Three Families · One Whiskey.
The Winsteads made it. The Hargis family brought it home. The Calls distill it.
Colonel A.S. Winstead,
and the smoothest whiskey on the market.
In the winter of 1880, after leaving the Worsham family distillery, Colonel Aaron Shelby Winstead set out to build something of his own. At 51, he founded the Winstead Distilling Co. with a clear vision for a more refined bourbon. When the first batch came off the still, he named it for the two finest things he could think of: silk and velvet, a reflection of the character he intended to create.
What followed set him apart. Silk Velvet moved at a scale uncommon for its time, with early shipments reaching New York and beyond, eventually establishing a presence across much of the country. By the early 1900s, it was recognized as one of Kentucky's finest offerings, known for its purity and consistency. Winstead would not live to see its full reach. Prohibition closed the distillery. Time and fire erased what remained. What endured was the standard he set, one built on quality, character, and a name that was never meant to be forgotten.
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Lifelong Hendersonians,
and bourbon men by trade.
It started with Mark Hargis, who spent years collecting the pieces of Silk Velvet's past: old bottles, labels, advertisements and records found throughout Henderson. What began as an interest in a forgotten hometown whiskey became something more. The name had been born here in 1880, and the Hargis family believed it belonged here again.
By then, bourbon was already the family trade. Zach had built his career inside Kentucky distilleries, working at the Owensboro distillery through its transition from O.Z. Tyler to the revived Green River name, and later joining the leadership team that built Western Kentucky Distilling Co. from the ground up. Zeb built his career on the other side of the industry, bringing spirits to market and putting bottles into the hands of retailers and drinkers.
In 2020, Mark, Zach and Zeb began the work of bringing Silk Velvet back. From the beginning, their longtime friend and 8th-generation distiller Jacob Call was part of the conversation. Four years later, Silk Velvet returned to Henderson, and the first bottles produced in more than a century sold out the day they were released.
Eight Generations.
One unbroken thread.
For over two centuries, the Call name has been tied to Kentucky whiskey. The family's roots trace back to the earliest days of distilling in Bourbon County, where generations learned the craft by doing, passing knowledge down through time and refining it with each new era. It's a legacy that endured when others didn't, grounded in experience, patience, and a relentless focus on making better whiskey.
Today that legacy is carried by Jacob Call, an eighth generation master distiller whose whiskeys have been featured across dozens of brands and earned more than 100 industry awards, including multiple Top 20 Whiskies in the World honors. Silk Velvet never went looking for a master distiller. The revival began with one at the table: Jacob has been part of the project since the first conversation, a good friend of the family long before the first barrel was filled.
"Bourbon isn't just part of my work. It's my passion, something that has shaped my life, driven my career, and been at the center of some of my most important memories. Reviving a historic Henderson brand in my hometown, where I was born and now raise my own family, means more to me than words can capture."
"This isn't a hobby. This isn't a side project.
This is my life's work."
A Bourbon Man's Road Home.
Before the revival, there were years inside Kentucky distilleries. The spark, the first revival, the distillery built from the ground up, and the road back to Henderson.
The trip to Maker's Mark that started it all.
The first revival: bringing Green River home after a century.
Building Western Kentucky Distilling Co. from the ground up.
Silk Velvet comes home. Barrel No. 1, tasted with the family.