Author name: Chuck Cowdery

My Popes

 The seven popes so far in my lifetime.My first pope was Pius XII. He died a few months after I took my First Communion. Our catechisms were old and the picture on the title page was of Pius X (1903-1914), but we also saw pictures of Pius XII and …

Why Do Whiskey Makers Have Only Two Seasons?

 Spring is one of whiskey’s two seasons, fall is the other one.One little-known aspect of the bottled-in-bond rules is that the whiskey must be made by one distiller at a single distillery in one season. One distiller and single distillery are pre…

How to Win in the Brave New Whiskey World

 As seen on the TTB website.When approved labels appear on the website of the Treasury Department’s Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), that doesn’t necessarily mean those products will be released. This one, however, with the bottling date right …

Predicting Bourbon’s Future, 13 Years Ago

 The digital version.On Christmas morning of 2011, the front page of Section BU of the New York Times featured a 2,500-word article about a phenomenon it called “the bourbon boom.”  “…today’s bourbon boom represents a triumph of s…

The Evolution of Frontier Distilling

 “Moonshine Still 1” by Daniel EskridgeWhen the livelihood of most people is subsistence farming, as it is on the frontier, communities are important, but households must be self-sufficient in food production and other basic needs. Survival is oft…

The Beginning of Bourbon

 John Barleycorn headed for the still.Whiskey plays an outsize role in American history, especially during the late colonial period. Not that alcohol wasn’t part of American life from the beginning. Beer, cider, and wine were as ubiquitous as brea…

This Meme Is Both Wrong and Right (Sort of)

 The meme is wrong but raises an interesting point.Earlier this week, I posted the following on Facebook.”There is a meme making the rounds that says Canada is the largest purchaser of Kentucky bourbon. That is false. The largest purchaser of Kent…

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