Peoria, Illinois was a hub for distilling in the state and the Woolner brothers were a large part of the industry. The Woolner brothers came to America from Hungary and purchased the Grove Distillery in the mid-1870s, from Richard Gregg…. Continue Re…
Hard Times are nothing new in history. The prime example of this is the panic of 1877. The Presidential election caused economic turmoil in the United States. The Democratic candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, won the popular vote, while the Republican… Con…
I often get asked about the Hoffman Distillery. They usually have an old bottle of a brand that came from the distillery. Julian Van Winkle III briefly owned the distillery in the 1990s where he warehoused his barrels and bottled… Continue Reading &#…
I recently received a surprise gift in the mail from one of my friends who works for the Ben Holladay Distillery in Weston Missouri. Her father had worked for Schenley in Texas and she found this booklet and sent it… Continue Reading →
I love old magazines because of the liquor advertisements found in them. In a June 3, 1946 issue of Life magazine, there is an advertisement for Imperial Blended Whiskey that features a painting by artist Thomas Hart Benton. Benton was… Continue Read…
Lisa Wicker is fond of telling a story of how, while working at Starlight Distillery she got distracted one day and let a mash cook for a longer time at a lower temperature than was their normal process. To her… Continue Reading →
Alcohol has always played an important role in American culture. In 1620, when the pilgrims settled in America, their ranks included a brewer and they brought beer with them. In 1640, Cornelius Toun distilled the first recorded brandy in New… Continu…
Things have changed over the last two centuries. It is easier to document the history of the distilling industry in the twenty-first century than it was in the twentieth century. It is not that the records were not kept from… Continue Reading →
