Author name: Chuck Cowdery

Are Basil Hayden and Old Grand-Dad the Same?

 A little knowledge goes a long way. Are they? Short answer, no; but here is why this question is asked and why that ‘no’ is nuanced and will bear some explaining. (Fair warning: It may not need as much explaining as it’s about to get.)Basil …

Over the River and Through the Woods

 Edna Catherine (Schwartz) Bunsey (1904-1994)As a kid growing up in Mansfield, Ohio, I did not have to cross a river or go through a woods to get to my Grandmother’s house. Okay, I could go through the woods on my bike, and that route crossed a cr…

When Alcohol Was Money

A collection of pioneer stills at the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History in Bardstown, Kentucky.Whiskey plays an outsize role in American history, largely because this continental nation had an active frontier for nearly 300 years and distilling was …

"That Night Was Scary." Pearl Harbor Remembered

 Curtiss P-40 WarhawkEighty years ago today my father, Ken Cowdery, was at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. He was a 21-year-old private in the United States Army, lined up for breakfast. Japanese bombers bound for Wheeler Field next door flew over h…

The World That Made Me: Nike Missiles

 Guarding a Nike Hercules Missile, Fort Barry, CA; c. 1970-71Nike was the Greek goddess of victory. Today it is a shoe company. Between those two uses, it was the name of an early missile defense system for the United States.In the immediate after…

With Whiskey, Time Is Money

 E. H. Taylor, Whiskey MogulIn the early days of American distilling, and in most distilling cultures throughout history, the proposition was simple. You got some fruit or grain, fermented it, distilled it, and then either consumed it or sold it. …

That Time I Saw an Old Man Play Guitar

 Jimmy Raney, as I remember him. (Photo by Greg Turner)I lived in Louisville from 1978 until 1987 and have spent a lot of time there since, except these last two years. Even after I moved, until about 1994 I was in Kentucky almost as much as I was…

ADM Sells Storied Peoria Distillery to BioUrja

 Hiram Walker Peoria in the 1940s.The Peoria JournalStar reported it like this: “After almost 40 years, Archer Daniels Midland Co. no longer will be the primary firm that produces ethanol in Peoria. Instead, a Houston-based company will take over …

A Piece of Bourbon History Is Leaving Chicago

This is the view Beam Suntory is giving up, of the Chicago River from the Merchandise Mart’s rooftop deck.Back in January, Beam Suntory announced it will move corporate headquarters from Chicago to New York sometime next year. At least 100 employees wi…

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