The Wheatland Distillery Miller & Mooney Womelsdorf (Ryeland) Berks County, Pennsylvania RD# 75 1st District There were many large-scale distilleries in Pennsylvania before Prohibition, and though most were in the […]
Pennsylvania’s Highspire Distillery Company
Highspire Distillery The Wilson Distillery (1823-1893) Highspire, Pa Dauphin County RD# 1 9th District There is little doubt that Highspire Distillery would have flourished into the 20th century if not […]
A Little History on a Pennsylvania Classic: Rittenhouse Rye Whisky
Good ol’ Rittenhouse Rye Whisky. It’s been a standard sipper for the American rye drinker since it was launched by Continental Distilling Corporation as “Rittenhouse Square Straight Rye Whisky” in […]
Liquor Laws, Listed from 1676-1935
This list is incomplete and will be periodically updated. 1676– Pennsylvania prohibits the use of distilling of any grain unless it was “unfit to grind and boalt.” 1791– The Excise […]
An Examination of Barrel Entry Proof
As I continue to dig into the origins of aged American whiskeys and into how far back their production goes, I continue to discover very interesting practices and find hints […]
What happened to Maryland’s Hunter Rye?
Once one of the most popular brands of rye whiskey in the country, if not the world, Hunter Rye Whiskey, was a product of Maryland. The brand was first introduced […]
Where Did the Term “Proof” Come From?
I’ve read plenty of explanations for why “proof” is so American. (I’ve even written about this topic before!) But like everything else- other than Native American culture- it came from […]
A Much Needed Discussion About Rectifiers
One of the more confused topics when we talk about the history of the American whiskey world is the topic of rectifiers. I really wish there was a way to […]
The Halloween Tragedy that Relocated a Distillery
On Halloween night, just outside Connellsville, Pennsylvania, a man was violently murdered for the gold in his pockets. Mystery surrounded the event, and for years the townspeople spun tales and […]
How Canada Quietly Changed the American Whiskey Drinker’s Palate
The last few weeks have been spent trying to find my way back onto social media platforms. I was kicked out on October 1st when I crossed our northern international […]