The 19th century laid the foundation of the modern whiskey industry in the United States. There are certain people in that century who had a large influence on what is being done today in the industry. I thought I would... Continue Reading →
Mount Vernon Rye is a very old rye whiskey brand that I would love to see revived. I am sure that it would be a hard case to get this brand back on the market since it has been abandoned... Continue Reading →
In 1856, Joseph S. Finch built a distillery near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 1911, the distillery was worth between $200,000 and $250,000 in Mida’s Financial Index. In 1892, the Sinclair brothers and their partner Henry Bischoff built a distillery in Schenley,... Continue Reading →
The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was the result of a struggle between straight whiskey producers and rectifiers, who purchased bulk whiskey and/or neutral spirits to make whiskey. It was a long struggle with an economic impact on the distilling industry... Continue Reading →
T. W. Bullitt was born into a family with a long history in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Bullitt County, Kentucky was named for this family. Their family estate is Oxmoor Farm in eastern Jefferson County and in the family since the... Continue Reading →
The Ezra Brooks brand was created by “21” Brands, Inc. This company was founded in 1933 in New York as a distributing company. In 1959, “21” Brands, Inc. decided to take advantage of a shortage of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7,... Continue Reading →
On July 17, 1888, John M. Atherton, the owner of the Athertonville Distillery, testified before a Congressional committee about the distilling industry and the bonding period for whiskey. There were several interesting questions and answers during this testimony and I... Continue Reading →
In the early 19th century, most distillers were farmer-distillers. They raised their own grain and made whiskey from that grain during the winter season. As the technology improved and the government taxes were imposed, the farmer-distiller became a rare occupation.... Continue Reading →
I am often asked to look at photographs of old bottles and give my opinion on the bottle’s age. It is not easy to do from photographs because there are many things I look for when I date a bottle.... Continue Reading →
