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…
A Lazarus newspaper ad from a little before my time (1928).It was fifty years ago, yet I remember the moment. 1975. I had just joined an advertising agency in Columbus, Ohio, to work on the Lazarus account. I was with some Lazarus executive, and …
In this stock image, ‘business’ is represented by a guy in a white shirt and tie while ‘creativity’ is represented by a lightbulb bursting with color, which is some pretty lazy creative.About ten years ago, I wrote about what happened when a very…
Every year at this time, everyone publishes their “best of” lists for the year. Sure, nobody wants to work very hard over the holidays, that includes most writers and editors and many readers. We all know these lists are just lazy editorial fille…
