Author name: Chuck Cowdery

The Return of Buffalo Springs (Sort of)

 Stamping Ground is a small town in Kentucky’s Scott County (pop. 780). It is about 25 miles northwest of Lexington and eight miles from Georgetown, the county seat. Settled in 1790, it was named for the bison-trampled earth around a fruitful spri…

The Deal that Made Me a Catholic

 Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Cowdery, July 1, 1950.My mother’s family was Roman Catholic and devoutly so. My father’s family was, as he described it, “vaguely Protestant.” They didn’t go to church and didn’t talk about religion. He had, however, been bapti…

America’s Craft Spirits Industry Grows Up

 Denver’s Leopold Bros is an example of a successful, independent craft distillery.Many new non-distiller producers want to become distillers, or at least say they do. Some eventually build or buy a distillery, but many don’t. The term “non-distil…

The Rise of Craft Distilling and “Craft-Washing"

 The former Seagram’s Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana was the source of many “craft” whiskeys.Craft distilling grew through the 80s and 90s, but slowly. It took off as the 20th century transitioned into the 21st. Other related phenomena w…

The Obscure Origin of the Craft Distilling Movement

This booklet was published by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy in 1982.According to the American Craft Spirits Association, there are 3,069 active craft distilleries in the U.S. That number has grown about 10 percent per year for the past…

The New Unicorns: a $20 Handle

 Screenshot from the Binny’s website, 5/2/2025.Traditionally in the whiskey world, a “unicorn” is a whiskey that is highly sought but rarely seen. Usually, the term is applied to high end limited releases like the Van Winkle line, Buffalo Tra…

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 …

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