Occum’s razor basically proposes that the simplest explanation is most likely the right one…That it’s best to avoid the more elaborate explanation when possible. While the principle doesn’t always hold […]
Pre-Prohibition Distillers of Pennsylvania
I have spent the last few years researching and cataloging information on nearly 200 distilleries that produced rye whiskey across Pennsylvania before 1920. The information about Pennsylvania’s distilling history along […]
A GMO Argument
I’ve been seeing a lot of articles lately about the use of GMO and non-GMO corn. I believe the conversation around GMOs is usually a bit off the mark. (one […]
MGP Ingredients- The Distillery Prohibition Did Not Destroy
If you’re tasting a lot of whiskeys and considering where they come from, you’ll have already become familiar with MGP (Midwest Grain Products) Ingredients. In most cases, you’ll have read […]
Potential in Pennsylvania
Picture a seed in your mind. It’s small. Even sitting in the palm of your hand, it doesn’t seem like much. But for all its unassuming nature, make no mistake, […]
The Cost of Prohibition for Pennsylvania
While it is slowly becoming common knowledge that Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American whiskey, I’m often asked, ”Why is Pennsylvania only now showing signs of distilling life again?” The […]
Summer 2016 PA Distillery Tour #10- Maggie’s Farm Rum Distillery, Pittsburgh, Pa
Her Jamaican rum And when she did come, I asked her for some. -Bob Dylan, lyrics from 4th Time Around Usually, my interest lies in American whiskey. But before there […]
Learning From History
I strongly believe that those of us that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. That goes for ourselves and our nation. The only amendment to the Constitution […]
“Old Hickory” and “The Hickoryites”
Andrew Jackson was an interesting character. He was born to Scots-Irish immigrants (most likely landing first in Philadelphia) somewhere between the border of North and South Carolina in 1767. He […]
Booz and Booze
Where does the word “booze” come from? Let’s look at the hazy origins of the word and what a Philadelphia whiskey retailer may have had to do with “booze” becoming […]