This is a self published book by Bill McBrayer IV. It was put together by his wife as a Christmas gift a few years ago, when he and his father re-entered the Bourbon business. Since then, Bill has added some material and published the book. It can be purchased on the McBrayer Legacy Bourbon website for $40.00. It is a self-promotional book, but still worth the money if you are interested in Bourbon History.
The McBrayer Bourbon Legacy: William Garland McBrayer IV, Cincinnati, Ohio, Mc Brayer Legacy Spirits, LLC, 2023. Contents, Illustrations, Introduction, Acknowledgements. 82pp.
This book is a promotional book for McBrayer Legacy Spirits. It does however, have some excellent historical facts about the McBrayer Family and its distilling past and present. The book starts off with a timeline of the McBrayer Family’s involvement in the distilling industry in Kentucky. It then tells the story of William H. “Judge” McBrayer and his distillery and J.H. McBrayer and his distillery. Their brands were Cedar Brook (Judge McBrayer) and Old McBrayer (J.H. McBrayer). The brands were well known in the 19th century and won many awards both in the United States, and overseas. The brands survived prohibition as medicinal spirits sold by National Distillers. After repeal, the brand came back and survived up to the 1960s. The present generation revived the brands in the 21st century.
The book is heavy on the illustrations with minimal text. The photographs are in color and very attractive. The text is well written with many historical facts. There is a table of contents, but no index. However, the book is short enough that an index is not needed to find information. I particularly like the timeline at the start of the book.
This book is a must have for any spirits library. Judge McBrayer played an important role in Kentucky’s distilling industry of the 19th century. The modern McBrayer whiskeys are also detailed in the book and this will document their legacy for the future. It would be nice if other artisan distillers and their brands did the same for their products.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller