Elijah Craig is credited with being the inventor of Bourbon in 1789, but as you may know I don’t believe that to be a true claim. There is no evidence that supports the claim earlier than the 1870s when he... Continue Reading →
In 1861 President Lincoln needed money to pay for troops to put down the rebellion of the Southern States. A whiskey tax was brought back but it was different from the first two periods of taxation discussed in Part One... Continue Reading →
Taxation of Whiskey plays an important role in American history. The Nation’s first constitutional crisis was the Whiskey Rebellion. The constitution was only a few years old and, for the States to ratify it, the new government was to take... Continue Reading →
Researching the African-American involvement in the Bourbon industry before Prohibition is difficult at best. There are not a lot of written sources as enslaved people did not get mentioned much in business documents and if they are mentioned it is... Continue Reading →
When I first started as an Archivist at United Distillers in the early 1990s, on top of my list of things to do was find historical sources of information on the whiskey trade. Some of the best sources were the... Continue Reading →
Maysville and Paducah are two river towns on the Ohio River that are rich in Bourbon History. Both are beginning to use that heritage to attract more tourism and both have some exciting plans on the table. I thought I... Continue Reading →
Many people ask me how is Tennessee whiskey different from Bourbon? The fact is there are very few differences. Tennessee whiskey is at least 51% corn. It is distilled at no higher than 160 proof. It is aged in new... Continue Reading →
There was a legal spirits business during prohibition. There were six companies that applied for the license to sell “medicinal alcohol” during the great dry spell of the United States. These six companies were: American Medicinal Spirits, which later became... Continue Reading →
I received my contract to take the Bourbon Cruise on the American Queen the other day and Rosemary and I are excited to be doing this trip. We will be spending the Fourth of July on the American Queen and... Continue Reading →
