The inaugural class for the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame was in 2001. This was many years before the bourbon boom, and the names elected in that first year were primarily iconic. Parker Beam, Lincoln Henderson, Elmer T. Lee, Booker Noe, Jimmy Russell, Jim Rutledge, and Bill Samuels Jr. were all part of that initial induction class.
The second year also included an impressive group of bourbon icons and legends. The 2002 class included George T. Stagg, George Garvin Brown, Col. James B. Beam, Julian Van Winkle, the five Shapira brothers from Heaven Hill, T. William Samuels Sr., and Oscar Getz of the historic Oscar Getz whiskey museum in Bardstown. However, Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame member Ova Haney is relatively unknown and I wanted to find out why.
Mr. Ova Haney
A few additional people were in the first two Bourbon Hall of Fame years, but one name in 2002 caught my attention. Mr. Ova Haney was featured in the same class as George T. Stagg and Julian Van Winkle, but why had I never heard of him? Why did I never come across his name in all of my readings? His story is essential, and he played a role in one of the great comebacks in the bourbon world.
Ova Oliver Haney, also known as Ovie, was born and raised in Kentucky. He attended the University of Kentucky and majored in Zoology. While considering becoming a salesman to pay his bills, he noticed a job at the Atherton Distillery near his home. He applied and was accepted for a temporary position that he never left. Later, he worked at another distillery owned by the same company that was known as Old Prentice or Calvert Distilling Company, all of which were owned by Seagram’s.
Ova Haney, Master Distiller
Ovie Haney continued his work and climbed the distillery ladder until he was given the title of Master Distiller, succeeding Charles Beam in 1984. The bourbon industry was not in a good place, and challenges were brought on by years of neglecting the brand and the facility. It was Haney who fought to renovate the distillery and was responsible for replacing the shingles with Spanish-style roofing.
You see, the Atherton Distillery was owned by Seagram’s, and the neglected brand was Four Roses. Seagram sold their Benchmark and Eagle Rare brands to Sazerac in 1989, and Haney, along with brand ambassador Al Young, operations leader Jim Rutledge, and distillery supervisor Mike Bullock, began creating a plan to restore Four Roses in the United States after success in the Asian and European markets.
Single Barrel and Retirement
Ovie Haney continued to press Seagram’s to bring a single-barrel product to market in the mid-1990s. In 1996, Haney retired and handed the reins to the new Master Distiller, Jim Rutledge. By now, you know that Four Roses survived and thrived under the expert guidance of Jim Rutledge, a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame class of 2001. However, a gentleman and Kentucky Hall of Fame Member Ova Haney helped resurrect the Four Roses Brand back to prominence in the United States.
