This version is Barrel 2 and bottled at 97 Proof. Multiply the amount Americans drink today by three and you'll have an idea of what much of the nineteenth century was like." What exactly was going on in the 1800s? And by this time, aged whiskey was preferred by far over the raw spirit that had been acceptable some 60 years previous. They held public meetings to discuss the matter, one of which resulted in a declaration that anyone trying to collect the taxes would be viewed as an enemy of society. It was probably similar in shape to a Hersheys Kiss, with the top knot narrowing into becoming a pipe that would carry the vapors to a vessel where they would condense. They had conned Grant into becoming an ally, and the scheme backfired. I. W. Harper, Old Charter, and Cascade (George A. Dickel) brand names were purchased by Schenley in the late 1930s, and Schenley itself was later acquired by United Distillers. The book serves as an indication that a number of cheap whiskeys were being produced just before and (in larger quantities) after the Civil War. During the years of Reconstruction more and more people, most of them experienced whiskey drinkers, went West. These bottles were too costly for many distillers, but some at least, took advantage of the invention. However, much whiskey was being sold in bulk to rectifiers and bottlers of the time, and the problem of unscrupulous wholesalers (and retailers) adulterating good whiskey just had to be tackled. Did Lincoln enjoy the warmth of an occasional glass of whiskey? And Washington did, indeed, make whiskey. With its 80-proof variety ranking as one of the top ten best-selling straight whiskeys on the market, this Jim Beam subsidiary has been at it since the 1800s with budget bottles that look like something your old man or his father would imbibe upon. Exploring unchartered lands, they learned to survive by hook and crook. But Kentucky whiskey-makers already had started refining and improving their methods. Jack Daniels No. (A wonderful twentieth-century example of this process can be seen in the case of A. Smith Bowman, a farmer in Virginia who, in 1935, produced Virginia Gentleman Straight Bourbon Whiskey using grains grown on his farm, made barrels from the trees on his land, and used the residues of his distillate to feed his farm animals.). Carry Nation died of a stroke in 1911. In modern terms, those seven gallons are the equivalent of 1.7 bottles of a standard 80-proof liquor per person, per weeknearly 90 bottles a year for every adult in the nation, even with. In 1776, Kentucky County was carved from the massive western part of Virginia previously known as Fincastle County, and a law known colloquially as corn patch and cabin rights, was issued by the Virginia General Assembly. The Ripy brothers opened a distillery in 1905 that would later be known as the Wild Turkey Distillery. So, along with the steamboats on the Mississippi, the whiskey industry now had railroads to take its product south. alcohol. It was too much for the industry to bear. 23 gallons of industrial alcohol were required in the manufacture of a Jeep. The origin of pulque is unknown, but because it has a major . Others, either those not versed in the art of distillation or too concerned with time and money, would not adhere to the art of the distiller wherein only the center section of the whiskey is deemed suitable for consumption. They didnt seem to care that these very impurities were responsible for the very flavor of the whiskey. Happily, the atmosphere was nowhere near as oppressive as it had been for our forefathers at the beginning of this century. Certainly that was not enough time in the wood to soothe its soul completely, but undoubtedly, it was long enough for the whiskey to have gained some color and mellowed sufficiently for quaffers to notice the difference. During the months leading up to Repeal, speculation was rife about how the liquor industry would handle the expected new business. Buy British--or else. The first liquor to be made in quantity and to have a major impact on the colonies was, in fact, rum. One report states that General James Wilkinson built a distillery at Harrodsburg, the earliest permanent settlement in Kentucky (1774), but that report is probably untrue since there is no record of Wilkinson being in the area until about 10 years later. It was common practice for corrupt local officials to accept bribes to assure lenient treatment of wayward tavern keepers and drunken customers alike. With the advent of the glassmakers hinged mold, came incised molds that could act as labels to display the distillers name, address, brand name, or another designation. The battle eventually was won by the blenders, but back on this side of the Atlantic, similar battles were being waged. Indeed, had Prohibition not come to an end, the government would have had enormous difficulties fulfilling their need of industrial alcohol (beverage alcohol at 190? Bourbon was here to stay. John H. Beam (Early Times Bourbon), Davids other son, was co-owner of the Early Times Distillery in 1860. A paper, written in 1993 by Mervel V. Hanes, M.D. Most settlers from Maryland and Pennsylvania started their trip to Kentucky in Pittsburgh and floated down the Ohio River on flatboats into Kentucky. The views and opinions expressed in the following book chapters are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Distilled Spirits Council or its member companies. For some reason, everyone seems to want to know the name of the very first person to make bourbon. The most influential group on the other side of the Prohibition debate was The Wine and Spirits Association, formed in 1891 to counter the propaganda of the Anti-Saloon League and all of the other similarly prohibitionistic societies. Members lectured and wrote to prominent people on both sides of the issue trying to bank the fire a little. So, if the whiskey was produced in, say, September or October, and it couldnt begin its trip to the Big Easy until, say, April, by the time it made its way to Bourbon Street, it could have been eight to nine months old. John D. Rockefeller, Sr. had paved the way with Standard Oil and all it took after that was a few clever men in Peoria, Illinois. Even aspirin, which was discovered in 1849, wasnt used medicinally until the end of the century. A good number of bars were no more than dens of iniquity where one could buy drugs, consort with prostitutes, hire strong-armed boys to do a little dirty work, or bribe voters with a few shots of whiskey. There was plenty of farmland, a demand for liquor, and the strong backs, tenacious characters, and intimate knowledge of the still, made the Scots-Irish perfect people to help carve out a new nation--and lay the foundations for the whiskey industry. By tracing the thirst the settlers wanted to slake we can plot the development of American whiskey from the early days of the settlers in Virginia and New England all the way through time to today. (One horse could carry about four bushels of grain or one 60-gallon barrel of whiskey--the product of 24 bushels of grain. When a movie cowboy orders three fingers of red-eye (although a dictionary will tell you that red-eye is cheap whiskey), he is actually demanding the good stuff--it dont get red until its aged. The bar opened in 1897 and closed its doors when Prohibition was enacted. And while they had the governments attention, the distillers took the opportunity to have them look at the fact that paying taxes on unaged whiskey, a product that couldnt yet be sold, was another problem that should be dealt with. The father of our country really knew how to look after his children; he actually suggested that public distilleries be constructed throughout the states citing that, The benefits arising from the moderate use of strong liquor have been experienced in all armies and are not to be disputed.. Now he can instead buy his own car, and ride off for a weekend or a few days with his wife and children in the country or at the sea. The spirits they made were probably not the smoothest of potions, mind you--but they were liquor all the same. A lid of sorts must then have been fitted onto the top of the log. Enter Colonel Edmund Hayes Taylor Jr. Taylor, the man responsible for giving us Old Taylor bourbon in 1887, was known as a discerning distiller who focused on the high quality of his products. Even by 1939 when Charles H. Baker Jr.s excellent book, The Gentlemans Companion, was published, the author noted that vodka was unnecessary to medium or small bars.. So, we can draw from Ewings reference to red liquor that in the mid-nineteenth century, some whiskey was being aged in charred casks, and it was aged long enough for it to gain bourbons characteristic crimson hue. The glassware and packaging for "The Ancients" was supposed to be unique and eye-catching and indeed, it was. All sorts of ploys were used to make this rotgut at least look good. Brown-Forman (Old Forester, Early Times) had a supply of aged whisky on hand to kick off the 1933 celebrations. All was by no means lost, however--good whiskey men never have given up that easily. The aging factor needs a little more investigation. The W S A tried to dissuade politicians and churchgoers from taking the Anti-Saloon Leagues mission to its logical conclusion. B. Dant, son of J. W. Dant, built the Cold Spring Distillery in 1865 and would soon produce Yellowstone Bourbon. Just over two years later, on January 17, 1920, after the Volstead Act that enabled the National Prohibition Law, had been passed by 287 votes to 100, the nation was officially dry. And although it is possible that some early settlers built their own from imported raw materials, most were probably imported from Europe. Its important to remember that the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. was well on its way at this point. One man whose name has certainly not been forgotten was the notorious preacher, Elijah Craig, who arrived in Kentucky in 1786 and was making whiskey three years later. The public houses are always crowded, especially so during the sittings of the courts of justice. However, Jefferson did stop those excise taxes on American liquor, and apart from the few years between 1813 and 1817, when taxes were levied in order to pay the costs of the War of 1812, whiskey wouldnt be taxed again until 1862. The Confederate troops, on the other hand, didnt get their fair share of whiskey, not only due to their lack of hard cash, but also because the South couldnt afford to use what valuable grain there was to make such frivolous stuff as whiskey; people were wanting of the basic necessities just to exist. Interestingly enough, cider-makers who didnt possess a still would, during the winter months, leave cider outside to freeze. His whiskeys, Old Crow and Old Pepper, were very popular during the Civil War, and he has always been hailed as the man who not only made good bourbon, but also knew exactly why his bourbon was good. All whiskeys were, once again, whiskeys--some were blended, and some were straight--but the label had to declare which type was in the bottle. The locations include delicatessens, shoeshine parlors, barber shops, delivery agencies, paint stores, taxi drivers, moving van companies, and of course, newspapermens associations. First, they made beer. The Stitzel distillery joined forces with the Weller company to form Stitzel-Weller. Captain James Thorpe, a missionary in Virginia at that time, wrote to friends in London that he had learned to make a drink from Indian corn that was so good, he sometimes chose it over English beer. Further investigations implicated Babcock, Grants personal friend and trusted secretary, in the ring--but Grant refused to believe the evidence. The world of bourbon is complex and the brands are numerous. According to this booklet, over 12,000 saloons had been closed by various means in the year 1909, and over 41 million Americans were living in dry territory. States reacted to the prohibition with varying degrees of complicity. Horrible stories about people going blind after drinking bootleg liquor are true. Also in 1935, the Austin Nichols company, previously concerned solely with the food business, took an interest in whiskey and other liquors. Since there wasnt a great deal in the way of entertainment back then, almost everyone was interested in a dram of whiskey. Lest you suffer under the misapprehension that Prohibition never reared its ugly head until 1920, you should know that various states introduced the noble experiment, in statewide or local-option form, way before then. The years between 1920 and 1933 are usually associated with speakeasies, bootleggers, bathtub gin, and gangsters, and, indeed, for some, those were the highlights of the decade. But until the mid-eighteenth century, whiskey was made in relatively small quantities, mainly by farmer-distillers, and without distinctive or consistent techniques. At that time, women involved with womens rights often were characterized as plain, but Willard was anything but plain. This agency eventually became part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Grants magnificent military might, however, didnt prepare him for the presidency. The supplier would receive a percentage of the whiskey, the distiller keeping the rest for his trouble. (This time period remained in effect until the Forand Act of 1958 increased it to 20 years.) Babcock became an Inspector of Lighthouses and drowned in 1884; McDonald was found guilty of his crimes in 1875, fined $5,000, and sentenced to three years imprisonment--but was pardoned, less than two years later, by President Hayes. During the first decades of the new century, science began to play a part in the manufacture of whiskey--due to a large extent to James Crows sour-mash methods. And although the town was originally known as Salem, the settlers soon adopted the name of their benefactor, and Bards Town (Bardstown) was born. Whiskey labeled as bourbon was actually distilled from low-grade molasses. To cap off the Lincoln question, two more instances give insight into his views: In 1854, after Lincoln refused to partake of whiskey on a particular occasion, Stephen Douglas asked him if he were a member of a temperance society. The tradesmen started watering down their whiskey in order to pay less and get more. One such quote was from Deut. No--it didnt contain neutral spirits or added flavorings or colorings. Since the late 1700s when whiskey was first shipped down south, a number of Kentuckys whiskey makers had come to rely heavily on Southern states demand and market for their products. Methyl alcohol has a direct affect on the optic nerve, and as little as one ounce has been known to cause death. March 4, 1801: Thomas Jefferson takes his seat as the third U.S. president, where he will stay until 1809. Laws that would properly define foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals, and help protect consumers, were, therefore, presented to Congress, and luckily for us, whiskey was one of the items under discussion. Not one to be sidetracked for long, Ms. Nation took to lecturing on the vaudeville circuit to raise money, and traveled to every state in the country, breaking up bars as she went. Meanwhile, during the late 1700s, the Scots-Irish, a huge group of immigrants from Northern Ireland began arriving in the United States. Hard drinks were not sold in "shots". And even east--to exotic ports such as New York City where, according to Luc Sante, author of Low Life, Lures and Snares of Old New York, for under a nickel, you could drink all the whiskey you could manage by sucking it through a rubber tube until you had to stop to take a breath. Its a grand way to do business: Pop into the town center with a few quarts of whiskey, trade one to the local seamstress in return for a new dress for the missus, another to the fishmonger who will supply you with dinner for the next four Fridays, and when the landlord is passing by, maybe you can persuade him to take a gallon of your finest whiskey in lieu of a few months rent. One of the favorite whiskey recipes is Ol' Snakehead. He was buried in a drunkards grave. Bininger, as far as we are able to ascertain, was a dealer in bulk whiskey who bottled some of his product. The popularity of alcohol in Europe as a medicine was very high. What they werent considering, of course, was that once the public grew accustomed to blended whiskey, chances were they would never return to the pure stuff. It was the beginning of the American way of doing business, and many small concerns combined and consolidated into larger companies. This figure, of course, is somewhat difficult to comprehend until you learn that the same table estimates that, using the same criteria, in 1970, consumption was at 2.5 gallons. Colony did a very thorough job and accumulated enough data to place John McDonald (the St. Louis-based superintendent of the Internal Revenue) at the head of the Whiskey Ring. When whiskey is first distilled it is clear--it looks exactly like vodka. They have Texas Pecan (my fave, even straight up over rocks), Coffee, Pumpkin Spiced, Honeysuckle . Those choosing to give up all forms of booze had their names marked in the register with a T for Total--they were the worlds first tee-totalers. Skirmishes continued between whiskey-makers and the tax collectors and resulted in a few revenue agents being tarred and feathered and others terrorized into handing over their excise books to the delinquent taxpayers, but the revolt didnt really come to a head until 1794. Later, in 1861, he did, however, add his signature to a temperance declaration that already bore the names of John Quincy Adams, James Buchanan, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Jackson, James Madison, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler. The final product was called log and copper whiskey. Joseph Dant, whose family would later be responsible for giving Yellowstone and J. W. Dant bourbons to the world, was using the log method in 1836 to make his first Kentucky whiskey. He was thinking of running for a third term--even though he had once told Congress that he was not prepared for the office at all--and people within his administration despaired of some of the people he had chosen to work alongside him. They carry the passion for gaming and for spirituous liquors to an excess. J. T. S. Brown and Sons (J. T. S. Brown Bourbon) bought the Old Prentice distillery in Anderson County sometime during early 1900s. Weak homebrew beer (typically around 1 to 2% ABV) was the closest thing to potable water in european (and colonial) homes since medieval times. In some instances, distillers ventured into importing, exporting, and distilling different products to diversify their lines. After news of the occurrence reached the ears of similar-minded women around the country, over 50,000 promoters of temperance followed suit. The mostly Lutheran and Calvinist Germans had been victims of religious persecution in their homeland and were of hardy stock--perfect people to help form a new nation and build a whiskey industry. Their pride for the craft is evident in this Rare Release of the 8-Year Single Barrel Rye Whiskey. This is a higher corn content than Montana 1889 Whiskey. Not content with that destruction, Carry Nation then set fire to the contents. 2020 Distilled Spirits Council of the United States | Equal Opportunity Employer | Distilled Spirits Council. However, there was yet a third group of so-called rectifiers who had an eye on a fast buck. As part of this deal, Congress passed his National Industrial Recovery Bill that effectively suspended anti-trust laws and compelled industries to write their own fair trade codes, which would be examined by the President before approval. Whatever brought settlers to Kentucky and however they arrived, the hardy souls who arrived after the corn patch and cabin rights deal was over bought or bartered small parcels of the large tracts of land held by speculators. WhistlePig is touting this new expression as the " first-ever super-aged North American Single Malt," claiming its 21-year age statement is "more than twice as long as the oldest American Single Malt.". 5 whiskey, and Lem Motlows Peach Brandy shortly after gaining control of the distillery. This shape is used, primarily, so that the bands that hold the barrel together can be tightened around the wider mid-section of the barrel, thus pushing the staves closer together and forming a watertight--or whiskeytight--seal. Rates were based on the alcoholic strength of the product, spirits made from home-grown products were taxed less than those made from imported goods (rum, made from imported molasses, therefore, was more-heavily taxed than whiskey), and an annual tax was levied on each still, dependent on its capacity. Imports included Dewar's Scotch, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Canadian Club Whiskey. Of course, many respectable bars existed in the pre-Prohibition era, and one such establishment was the Old Waldorf Bar in Manhattan. The Volstead Act all but destroyed many of the legitimate whiskey distilleries. Hamilton had estimated the national debt at about $54 million, and on July 1, 1791, the government started to enforce an excise tax on all spirits--imported and domestic. The Whiskey Ring, as it became known, involved some cohorts of President Grants skimming more than a few tax dollars from the whiskey men--and the country. ), The farmers simply chopped down a few trees from their land, got the local cooper to make some sturdy barrels (every self-respecting settlement had a cooper or two since barrels were used to store and transport most products, from foodstuffs to hardware, at that time), and after bartering as much as possible with his immediate neighbors, he could easily send off a wagon load of whiskey to thirsty buyers further afield. The country could have used a few more men who werent afraid to voice their anti-prohibitionistic voices at the time. Suddenly though, from out of the woodwork, Betty Ford, Ringo Starr, and Liz Taylor came clean, publicly said goodbye to John Barleycorn, and a new interest in sobriety was born. It was a grand system that had actually been around since about 1870 when bottles became more common as a way of packaging whiskey, but as local Prohibition spread, drinkers in dry areas began writing away for whiskey like never before, and they were treated to some marvelous offers and premiums. And according to various industry documents of the time, it was used in a variety of fairly astounding ways: A by-product of making any form of beverage alcohol from grain is the leftover mash, which is dried and used as feed for farm animals. On what did they spend it? Courtesy image. Whiskeygate--the Tale of the Infamous Whiskey Ring. These people had a long history of moving (or being moved) to new lands, coping with hardships, battling adversity, and establishing thriving communities. Also in December, 1933, President Roosevelt formed the Federal Alcohol Control Administration, an agency charged with establishing codes--separate ones for liquor, beer, and wine--to which any company in the beverage alcohol business was legally compelled to adhere. Frenchman Jean Pierre Brissot wrote of his 1788 trip to Boston (Nouveau Voyage dans les tats-Unis de lAmrique septentrionale, 1791), The rum distilleries are on the decline since the suppression of the slave trade, in which this liquor was employed. Then, in 1807, the Embargo Act restricted the importation of molasses from British ports, and the following year, the importation of slaves was made illegal altogether, completely destroying the triangle trade among the U.S., Africa, and the West Indies. One of the strangest, most unpredictable effects of Prohibition, however, was this: Hard liquor actually became more popular than it had been prior to the Noble Experiment. But this profession is beloved because it is essential, and it is respected because its pursuit is clothed with an element of danger and with a sporting risk. Daniel Boone first ventured into the eastern part of what would become Kentucky on a hunting expedition in 1767, and due, in part, to his reports of its bounty, the land soon acquired a somewhat idyllic status. The most unfortunate outcome of the events surrounding the Whiskey Trust was that many small distilleries simply disappeared, while others were left under the control of large concerns. They were shipping whiskey to all sorts of colorful Western towns--Laramie, Tombstone, Dodge City--but it wasnt always too good; much was completely unaged and cut with water. Black marketeers who had the means to make whiskey simply couldnt restrain themselves. In 1867, she married a physician and alcoholic, Dr. Charles Gloyd, and was widowed when her husband, despite her remonstrations to the contrary, reaped the rewards of drinking too much. Fittingly, some exact dates were forgotten (whiskey was involved, after all), but this timeline will help you grasp the basics and understand its origin; who played key roles in the history of distilling, how whiskey came to be, how it evolved to be the whiskey / bourbon / rye . Ingredients were: 1 gal. In 1876 Tom Moore and Ben Mattingly bought their first distillery. Modern spirits are 40% ABV, but in the 19th century it was typically closer to 15% ABV. The fact was that since Jefferson Davis had made whiskey hard to come by, its value had increased by leaps and bounds. Cutter, Chicken Cock and Old Forrester. Whiskey spurred the women of America to lead a crusade that led to Prohibition, and has played a part in every major war this nation has seen. Fortunately, however, the government rethought their actions when they realized that much of the whiskey being consumed at the time wasnt being taxed at all. The Pennsylvania whiskey makers decided to revolt. The straight wooden staves that are used to form a barrel must be heated in order to bend the wood into the familiar barrel shape. The Pepper family was one of the few Kentucky distillers who could afford the taxes that spurred the Whiskey Rebellion. Henry McKenna (Henry McKenna Bourbon) started making whiskey near Bardstown in 1855. It seems that a certain William Bard, an agent for David Bard and John C. Owens, who as partners had laid claim to 1,000 acres of land in Kentucky County by 1780, held a lottery that same year in which the 33 lucky winners would be awarded lots on the land. 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