When you read this newspaper ad from 1913, your first thought might be, “Well, this person hates whiskey and promotes the temperance movement.” But oddly enough, it’s a sales ad […]
Some Much Needed Perspective: Bourbon Vs. Rye Whiskey Distilleries.
(This is a post from my Facebook page, @AmericanWhiskeyHistory, December 9, 2022. But my thoughts have not changed on the subject!) I need to say this because I’m SOOOO tired […]
The Distilleries of Somerset County, Pennsylvania
So much of Pennsylvania’s distilling history has been lost to time. One glaring example of forgotten history has been Somerset County’s distilleries, once well-known in the whiskey trade for their […]
“Jug Towns”
Years ago, I was reading an old history book which referenced “jug towns.” It explained that jug towns were essentially early factory towns. These scattered settlements sprang up around clay […]
An Ode to Pennsylvania’s Meadville Distillery.
There are so many distilleries in Pennsylvania that had a huge impact on American whiskey that we just don’t know enough about! One Pennsylvania rye whiskey distillery that doesn’t get […]
Why Don’t Distilleries Re-Use Barrels?
I have always found it odd that American distillers are prohibited from re-using barrels. It’s not as if the practice of “secondary aging” with used barrels isn’t completely commonplace today! […]
The Slow Game of Zealotry.
The temperance movement did not spring out of a hole in the ground. It took about 100 years to impose its will upon the United States and upon our Constitution. […]
Which Kentucky Distilleries Were Absorbed By the Whiskey Trust in 1899?
The “Whiskey Trust” was not a footnote in the story of American whiskey history, though it is often treated as such by whiskey historians. The evolution of the Trust after […]
Claims of False Advertising in 1871 Provides Insight into the History of Rectifiers.
July 1871- Trouble was brewing in Lancaster, PA between competing rectifiers, and one of the rivals took his grievance to the local paper- the Intelligencer Journal. These clippings reveal that […]
Who was George T. Stagg?
Part 1. I have always wanted to know more about the man behind the marketing myth. George T. Stagg’s name has had quite an impact on the bourbon industry- and […]