I received this book from the author to review a couple of months ago and I am just now getting around to writing the review. It is an excellent book that covers many things dealing with American history. It is a welcome addition to my whiskey library.

Manny Shwab and the George Dickel Company: Whiskey, Power, and Politics During Nashville’s Gilded Age: : Clay Shwab, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2024. Forward, Preface, Introduction, Contents, Appendix, Chapter Notes, Bibliography, Index, Illustrated. 238pp.

This book is written by a descendant of Victor Emmanuel “Manny” Shwab, who came to own the George Dickel Company after Dickel’s death. The book starts with the story of Shwab’s father, an Alsatian Jew who became an American citizen in 1840. It continues on with the birth of Manny and his activity as a smuggler during the American Civil War. When Dickel started his liquor company, Shwab was his bookkeeper. After his death, Shwab took over the company and led it through the dark days of Prohibition in Tennessee in 1910 and moved the company to Louisville, Kentucky. There he signed an agreement for the Stitzel Distillery to make Cascade whiskey for him. He passed away in November, 1924.

The book is well written and full of interesting stories. It discusses the American Civil War, politics, the Gilded Age and George Dickel and prohibition. It is filled with copies of documents and photographs from Shwab’s life. It is well researched as Clay Shwab had access to many family documents and photographs. It is well indexed and contains an excellent bibliography and endnotes. The book is very scholarly in its contents, but written in an entertaining way that makes it easy to read.

I am glad to add this book to my whiskey library. It contains history that was unknown to me from family sources. This is a book I will read often and use as a reference for years to come.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller