Ten Gallon Hat

This curious bottle of export bourbon was produced at Heaven Hill (renamed ‘Ten Gallon Hat Distillery Co.’ for the occasion) for the Japanese market. The name ‘Ten Gallon Hat’ is a reference to a nickname for cowboy hats, which were omnipresent in the Wild West during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The tight weave of the hat was said to make it sufficiently waterproof that it could be used as a bucket. The term ‘ten gallon hat’ was popularised by Stetson, whose famous advertisement from the 1920s shows a horse drinking from a hat. That being said, most cowboy hats probably held less than a gallon.