In the late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, he wanted to sell it as quickly as possible. The still-popular Lairds Applejack can trace its roots to Scotsman William Laird, most probably a whisky distiller, and most definitely from the Highlands of Scotland. In Europe, the first temperance organization had come into being in Ireland in 1818 (later known as the Ulster Temperance Society), and similar organizations sprung up in Scotland, England, Norway, and Sweden in the first half of the nineteenth century. Even before the turn of the century, the rum business had been winding down. According to Patricia M. Rice, author of Altered States, in 1873, Eliza Jane Thompson, a woman with a passionate distaste for the drinking classes, led 70 women to drugstores and bars in her hometown of Hillsboro, Ohio, where they stood outside and sang hymns and prayed. 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. . 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. Whatever his product actually was, however, was strong enough to get a whole bunch of native Americans so drunk that they scalped and killed him in 1622. J. W. Dant (Yellowstone and J. W. Dant Bourbons) set up his still (the famous log) in 1836. Of course, many respectable bars existed in the pre-Prohibition era, and one such establishment was the Old Waldorf Bar in Manhattan. An editorial in The New York World Telegram in 1944 stated, public and official alarm over the shortage of liquor is pathetic in a people who are supposed to be adult.. And he was right, the Anti-Saloon League was doing just that. By 1945, Americans were consuming about three times as much rum as they had in 1941. By the turn of the century, total abstinence was the goal. Undeterred, they turned their talents to fermenting other fruits--and even vegetables. Robert Samuels (Makers Mark Bourbon) arrived in Kentucky in 1780 and probably set up his still shortly thereafter. To match todays style of bourbon whiskey, we must use todays standards as our guide: Bourbon must be aged for at least two years in charred oak casks (folk may tell you they must be white oak, but government specifications dont designate a type), and contain more corn than the sum of all *other grains used. He had the scientific knowledge to be able to tinker intelligently with various aspects of his processes in order to make a better whiskey. But in those pre-pasteurization days, beer didnt keep too long, so they brewed only as much beer as would be consumed in the very near future. And the American whiskey distillers took note. Its somewhat astounding that there was never a Boston Rum Party, but on the other hand, the rum-loving colonists of the time would have never thrown good liquor into Boston Harbor. Instead, in the context of the speech, he was merely describing a common practice of the times, implying that if people were made aware of the evils of alcohol, such foolishness would stop. It goes just as fast and just as far as public sentiment of the church will permit. Maine was made dry in 1846, Vermont in 1852, New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1855, and New York in 1854 (but for only two years--New Yorkers just dont put up with that kind of behavior). Once again, people were demanding straight rye whiskey--not the blended product that had been poured as rye at many a bar since as far back as the 1950s. W. L. Weller (W. L. Weller Bourbon), whose grandfather, Daniel, had owned a distillery in 1800, formed a wholesale whiskey business in 1849, using the slogan "Honest whiskey at an honest price.". Lems peach brandy was made in an old pot still. And Grant was returned to office in 1872. Everyone seemed to have it out for the distillers. Taylor William Samuels (Maker's Mark Bourbon) was operating a commercial distillery in Deatsville in 1844. During the post-war period, the distillers were busy either going broke or going for broke. Maybe as a matter of routine, distillers who invested in used cooperage would set fire to the interior of the barrel to rid it of any lingering odors or dirt, and once again, at some point, charred barrels were recognized as having a good effect on whiskey. proof). This date coincides nicely with George Garvin Browns 1870 decision to sell his Old Forester bourbon exclusively in sealed bottles. 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. Bourbon whiskey is America's native spirit. The battle eventually was won by the blenders, but back on this side of the Atlantic, similar battles were being waged. However, to some extent, Grant was directly involved with this scam: One of its main culprits, who was never convicted of any wrongdoing, was protected by Grant, and rumor at the time had it that Grants son Fred and brother Orvil had directly profited from the fraud. proof), but by 1865 they had risen to a whopping $2 per gallon, the exact same amount that would be levied after Repeal, almost 70 years later. Drinking was still legal in some areas of the country--but not for too very much longer. The biggest problem that faced the wets was that not enough people in the beverage alcohol business took the drys seriously--most people thought that if they ignored the drys, they would go away. Whiskey has always been stored in wooden casks, but not always for very long, and not always in charred barrels. Schenley, under the guidance of its owner, Lewis Rosenstiel, had acquired a number of distilleries, brand names, and quite a stock of whiskey during Prohibition. The word Kentucky, just by the by, as translated from the native American Iroquoian, is proposed to have two meanings: Some say it means meadowland, whereas others say that the word means dark and bloody ground and was so-called to commemorate the native American wars fought within the area. 19 gallons were needed to produce one 16-inch naval shell. First, they made beer. The Cascade distillery in Tullahoma, Tennessee, was founded in 1877 and later purchased by Dickels company. A bottle exists today, produced in 1848, that bears the word bourbon and the distillers name, M. Bininger and Company of New York. 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 following month over 300 people (distillers and government employees) were arrested for their involvement in the Whiskey Ring, and everyone was certain that justice was being served. The Union troops procured their whiskey from wherever they could, having it sent by their families, dodging the guards and finding their way to a local grogshop, and in the case of one whole regiment during the Christmas celebrations of 1864, making a full 15 gallons of bad whiskey all by themselves. Aside from having to follow a complex, multi-step recipe, distilling beverage alcohol in those days meant creating a highly flammable liquid over a heat source of open flames. Whiskey had great value during the Civil War. Isaac Wolfe Bernheim and his brother, Bernard, started a wholesale whiskey business in Paducah in 1872. Liquor in the 18th century: History of Distilled Spirits. For many proponents of temperance, however, the word meant moderation, not complete abstention. Its interesting to note just how much the whiskey business helped the war effort at this time. December, 1933 saw an America with only about 20 million gallons of whiskey on hand (compared to the 60-some million gallons of surplus whiskey when Prohibition began). But not until 1870 would the company headed by George Garvin Brown (Old Forester) sell its whisky (without the e) only in sealed bottles. Etc. Another liquor was far easier and much less expensive to produce, and it was about to become one of the first industries in America. But, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln was forced to reintroduce the excise tax on whiskey to help pay for the Union war effort. . 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. But in a strange, labyrinthine manner, this new batch of concerned citizens not only did what they set out to do (for which they deserve much accolade), but they also paved the path for the return to the bold, rich flavors of straight American whiskey. Pulque is depicted in Native American stone carvings from as early as AD 200. By the end of the century, however, because of the consolidation of so many distilleries during the days of the whiskey trusts, many different whiskeys emanated from relatively few distilleries, a practice still common today. Did They Have Whiskey In The 1800S? 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. But whether or not they were shipping their product in charred casks is highly debatable; we know only that that particular practice became popular in the fifty-some years that followed. The locations include delicatessens, shoeshine parlors, barber shops, delivery agencies, paint stores, taxi drivers, moving van companies, and of course, newspapermens associations. 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. Whiskey at the Close of the Twentieth Century. The whiskey men of America were somewhat nervous that much of their audience was gone. Their pride for the craft is evident in this Rare Release of the 8-Year Single Barrel Rye Whiskey. Paul Jones introduced his Four Roses whiskey to Kentucky in 1888. The spirits they made were probably not the smoothest of potions, mind you--but they were liquor all the same. Most settlers from Maryland and Pennsylvania started their trip to Kentucky in Pittsburgh and floated down the Ohio River on flatboats into Kentucky. This legitimate whiskey was prized for its high quality, since unless people could get hold of smuggled Scotch, most of the other available whiskeys were roughly made and seldom aged by the moonshiners who produced them. Bonding helped the whiskey men a little since it meant that they didnt have to pay their taxes as soon as the spirit ran out of the still, but 12 months wasnt a very long grace period considering that whiskey under two years old isnt worth drinking, and it doesnt really gain much character until it has been in the wood for three to four years. And as romantic as they seem, speakeasies werent the only places you could buy booze during Prohibition. 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. 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. During the same period of time, names of other whiskey distillers crop up, and many of them have faded into obscurity. Carson states that one colonel from Georgia was actually making whiskey himself--prohibition be damned. 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. 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. A similar trust of that time was the Kentucky Distilleries and Warehouse Company (KDWC), formed in 1899. However, there was yet a third group of so-called rectifiers who had an eye on a fast buck. A lid of sorts must then have been fitted onto the top of the log. Think about this: Early farmers, from time to time, must have had a bumper crop of grains. Whiskeygate--the Tale of the Infamous Whiskey Ring. The traditional price for a bottle of cheap whiskey in a cowboy saloon was two bits (25 cents). Was this a blended whiskey? Why gin? In 1933, National owned approximately 50 percent of all of the whiskey in America along with a number of notable distilleries, such as the Wathen Distillery (Old Grand-Dad, Old Taylor, and Old Crow), the Overholt Distillery (Old Overholt), and three other distilleries that produced straight whiskey. It is a league of organizations. Whiskeys made at this distillery include Very Old Barton, Ten High, Kentucky Gentleman, Colonel Lee, Tom Moore, and Barclays. (One horse could carry about four bushels of grain or one 60-gallon barrel of whiskey--the product of 24 bushels of grain. Two quotes from Lincoln often are used out of context and make him sound like a drinking man; both are taken from a speech he made to the Springfield Washington Temperance Society in 1842. Even though some documents pertaining to the case were stolen (allegedly by a man in the employ of Grant himself), Babcock was indicted. 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 . More than a few accounts suggest as much, but as far as can be ascertained, it just isnt true. Heres an example of how it worked according to Martin Gilbert, author of American History Atlas, 1968: In 1752, by which time there were at least 30 legitimate distilleries in Rhode Island alone, a ship called The Sanderson left Newport, with 8,220 gallons of rum on board. 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. Stitzel, Glenmore, Schenley, Brown-Forman, National Distillers, and Frankfort Distilleries--and these companies were allowed to store whiskey and sell it to licensed druggists, who in turn, could mete it out to customers who had a doctors prescription. There was, however, another factor that worried the post-Prohibition whiskey men: Their supplies of aged whiskey were critically low. It has no interest apart from the church. The popularity of alcohol in Europe as a medicine was very high. However, since the majority of brewers and distillers thought of the drys as not much more than religious fanatics, they chose not only to ignore them, but foolishly carried on doing business as usual--a bad move, and one that would eventually lead to their downfall. They carry the passion for gaming and for spirituous liquors to an excess. Another major development of this era was the 1825 invention of The Lincoln County Process by Tennessean Alfred Eaton. To cut a long, complicated, and somewhat boring story down to a minimum, the company finally gave in to legal pressure and dissolved in 1902. What he actually said was that although many people were injured by alcohol, they didnt seem to believe that it was from the use of a bad thing, and that they thought it merely from the abuse of a good thing. Irishman James Thompson joined George Garvin Brown (his second cousin) in the whiskey business during the mid 1870s. March 4, 1801: Thomas Jefferson takes his seat as the third U.S. president, where he will stay until 1809. ): During the period leading up to the Civil War, some brand-name whiskeys were becoming popular. Demand was diminished--and things didnt change a great deal until some learned spirits aficionados decided that whiskey wasnt getting enough attention and started to shed some light on the intricacies of single malt Scotch in the 1980s. In fact, according to Mike Veach, archivist at United Distillers, it is more probable that Elijah Craigs name was used to fight the prohibition movement in the late nineteenth century simply because he was a Baptist minister. Not only did they point to Babcocks warning McDonald of the impending investigation (dated prior to McDonalds being accused), they bore a strange signature--Sylph. Was Sylph the Deep Throat of the day? 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. In his book, The Great Illusion, Herbert Asbury quotes a 1929 telegram that listed over 30 people and places that supplied liquor in Manhattan. For some of them, this meant traveling a couple of hundred miles through dangerous country where native Americans were wont to attack, and it also meant leaving their farms for relatively long periods when there was work to be done--and whiskey to be made. Cutter, Chicken Cock and Old Forrester. 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. Old Taylor Bourbon first hit the shelves in 1887. Whiskey was a spirit of contention during the Civil War, and was, in part, the reason that Grant never served a third term in the White House. The black-market price for whiskey was, in 1863, about $35 per gallon, compared to about 25 cents for the same amount at the end of 1860. John H. Beam (Early Times Bourbon), Davids other son, was co-owner of the Early Times Distillery in 1860. By 1934, his company owned the George T. Stagg Distillery (Ancient Age) and the James E. Pepper Distillery (James E. Pepper whiskey) among others. The rum business in the United States was doomed, but its demise created plenty of room for the up and coming whiskey industry. 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. While the United States was searching for an identity, certain families were forming the basis for what were to become major whiskey empires. in the manufacture of rubber, antifreeze, tetraethyl lead (used in the production of aviation gasoline), rayon for parachutes, and ether, among other things. Black marketeers who had the means to make whiskey simply couldnt restrain themselves. I do not believe that men can be legislated into angels--even red-nosed angels. Henry Watterson, owner and editor of the Louisville Courier Journal, wrote those words in 1913. It was cheaper than beer, wine, coffee, tea, and milk in the 1820s than to buy whiskey. ), 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. By far, bourbon is the most popular style of American whiskey and it's among the best-loved styles of whiskey worldwide. In December of that year the Distilled Spirits Institute (DSI) was formed in the New York offices of the Schenley Products Company. In Kentucky Bourbon--The Early Years of Whiskeymaking, Henry G. Crowgey describes an 1821 newspaper advertisement for bourbon whiskey, so its fairly safe to assume that the distiller of that time knew that the readers would understand what it was he had for sale. They had fought the law. However, since it takes 10 full days for the whiskey to travel through all of the charcoal, we think he was referring to his new, though slow, method of filtration. 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 1904, the Cascade Distillery (George A. Dickel) was enlarged, making it the largest distillery in the whole of Tennessee at that time. According to most reports, Sylph was a woman said to have had an extra-marital affair with Grant, and she was a woman who had pestered him ever since. George T. Stagg (The Ancient Age Distillery) opened his first distillery in 1840. When Grant was elected U.S. president in 1868, the whole countrys relief was palpable. What could they do with all the leftover grain after all their neighbors had bought or bartered enough to keep them in their daily bread for the next year or so? The Anti-Saloon League had structured its tactics to make sure that a number of individual states went dry before lobbying for national prohibition, and they were succeeding at an alarming rate. It was too much for the industry to bear. The George T. Stagg Distillery went on to become the Ancient Age Distillery and was sold before Schenley was taken over. After watching people in Saghetti Westerns and Civil War Documentaries shoot whiskey like it was nothing, I was wondering about the strength of alcohol in the 19th century. Indeed, Lincoln said just that; but he was not applauding the use and enjoyment of liquor. Its easy to see that national prohibition was inevitable sooner or later. Liquor, beer, and wine have long been popular targets of taxation for governments in need of a few extra dollars for two very simple reasons: Beverage alcohol is produced from food, be it fruit, sugar, or grain, but it is not necessary to sustain life. It also stated that only straight whiskey could be bonded (although distillates other than whiskey--rum, for instance--that met the requirements could also be Bottled in Bond). *The Civil War toe the whiskey-making states apart. In 1882 a distillery by the name of R. B. Hayden and Company fired up its stills to make the first bottles of Old Grand-Dad bourbon. People who had once enjoyed a few beers at the local saloon were now tossing back shots of whiskey and drinking fanciful cocktails made with poor-quality booze. Not all farmers had stills, mind you, since stills were very expensive pieces of equipment. Raise a glass to the pioneers and heroes of the American whiskey industry: Jacob Beam, I. W. Bernheim, Colonel Blanton, Wattie Boone, A. Smith Bowman, George Garvin Brown, the Chapeze brothers, James Crow, Jack Daniel, J. W. Dant, George Dickel, Basil Hayden, Paul Jones, Henry McKenna, Tom Moore, Elijah Pepper, T. B. Ripy, Robert Samuels, the Shapira brothers, E. H. Taylor, Pappy Van Winkle, W. L. Weller, and Evan Williams. Less than 10 years later, Carry married David Nation, a lawyer and minister of the Christian church who eventually divorced her because of her slightly insane ways of demonstrating her distaste for alcohol. Glenmore Distilleries (Kentucky Tavern, among others) survived Prohibition well and went on to become major producers and importers of a number of liquors and liqueurs. The most avid of these budding aficionadas and aficionados worked at learning about their drinks. Its important to remember that the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. was well on its way at this point. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the storm that would become World War II was brewing. This was typical of the time. It's a tightly regulated product that must be produced in the United States and has a few distinct characteristics. These prices could be much higher in cities or for name brand liquors. All sorts of ploys were used to make this rotgut at least look good. Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. He described her as unquestionably the handsomest woman in St. Louis, and went on to say, Her form was petite, and yet withal, a plumpness and development which made her a being whose tempting, luscious deliciousness was irresistible. Obviously, McDonald was quite taken with the woman (although a sketch of Sylph in McDonalds book reveals her to have been more homely than irresistible). During the months leading up to Repeal, speculation was rife about how the liquor industry would handle the expected new business. 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