Rip Van Winkle (1921 film) Catskill mountains. Upon drinking a strange concoction of theirs, he falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. Rip Van Winkle (1921 film) Rip Van Winkle is a 1921 American silent fantasy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Thomas Jefferson and Milla Davenport in oft-filmed story made famous in the 19th century by Thomas Jefferson's father, Joseph Jefferson. T. Jefferson had starred in a 1914 feature-length version of the story which was re-released in 1921 just as this film was premiering. However, they should not be confused as the same film, they are two different films starring the same
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve label. Sometime after the Stitzel-Weller distillery was sold in 1972, Julian Van Winkle, Jr. resurrected the pre-prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle brand and initially used old whiskey stocks from the distillery for its bottlings. Julian Jr. died in 1981 and Julian Van Winkle, III (Pappy's grandson) took over the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company. After the initial sale in 1972, the Stitzel-Weller distillery was eventually closed completely in 1991. Since 2002, the Van Winkle brands have been distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at the Buffalo Trace Distillery as a joint venture with the Old Rip Van Winkle