Named after founder Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, I.W. Harper honors the legacy of the Bernheim brothers, who helped establish Louisville as a bourbon hub. Their historic distillery, founded in the late 19th century, was later acquired by Schenley after Prohibition, then rebuilt by United Distillers in 1987. When Diageo succeeded United Distillers in 1997, the distillery was sold to Heaven Hill. Diageo retained the I.W. Harper brand, initially for export, and reintroduced it to the U.S. market in 2015.
