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 colony of New Amsterdam (1664 map).The earliest report of a commercial whiskey distillery in what is now the United States places it on Staten Island, in the colony of New Netherland, in 1640. It says they distilled using “Indian corn” and ry…
“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…
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…
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…
Fred Rosen, former CEO of Sam’s Wine and Spirits, the first booze superstore.Forty years ago, when I was contemplating a move to Chicago, a friend from my Louisville days, a Chicago native, advised me on many matters. He helped me get a lawyer, t…
The crucial scene in “Blackmail” (1929).There is a new documentary out called “Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail.” It is currently available on TCM and MAX. It shows how director Alfred Hitchcock in “Blackmail” (1929) and other earl…
The original.In 2019, three entrepreneurs purchased a historic distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and several brands associated with it. One of those brands, Old Commonwealth, was the distillery’s name when Julian Van Winkle owned it and that’s…
After Prohibition, Old Crow advertising emphasized the brand’s history.The tale of the 1895 Brown-Gordon murders may seem like a stretch for a publication devoted to American whiskey, but the involvement of a principal in America’s most successfu…
Made in Louisville, but on their way to Tennessee.Brown-Forman started its press release today by reminding us that the company is 155 years old. That’s one way to say they take a long view. In part, that’s their business. They are one of the fou…
