Bourbon Whiskey

by Bernie Lubbers

  1849W.L. Weller, the original wheated bourbon, opened.

  1850David M. Beam moved his family’s Old Tub Distillery to be closer to the railroad.

  1855Henry McKenna opened.

  1857Ben Parley Moore wrote his employer a letter during his visit to Kentucky. He was so struck by the folks here that he wrote, “Everywhere, sir, I am greeted by gentlemen with their hearts in their right hand, and their right hand in mine, and certainly in their left, a bottle of unequalled Old Bourbon Whiskey.”

  1860David Beam’s brother John started up the Early Times Distillery.

  1861-1865Civil War–Bourbon sales declined because of the war between the states. Kentucky remained neutral, but the bourbon industry depended on the South for a major chunk of their business. When the war ended, there were fewer distilleries than before. Between the end of the war and the turn of the century, bourbon didn’t rebound to pre-war popularity, and gin started to overtake bourbon in popularity because it could be made easily in people’s bath tubs.

  1865Benjamin Blanton opened up his distillery. (Elmer T. Lee created the bourbon Blanton’s in 1984—the first single barrel bourbon.)

  1867The Chapeze Brothers started up Old Charter Distillery.

  1870John Fitzgerald opened up his distillery. He soon made Old Fitzgerald wheated bourbon.

  1869-1870Colonel Edmund Taylor (orphaned at a young age and raised partly by his uncle Zachary Taylor of Kentucky) opened up and named his magnificent state-of-the-art distillery O.F.C., which stood for Old Fire Copper, meaning that the whiskey only touched copper, making it cleaner and higher quality. Even today, everyone uses copper in distilling.

  1870Instead of shipping in barrels, the first bourbon was bottled and labeled. Before this, only bulk whiskey was available. Distilleries would ship barrels to a tavern, or people would come to the distillery with their quart jugs to be filled. In 1870, a pharmaceutical salesman by the name of George Garvin Brown bought whiskey stocks and rectified his brand and put the name of the most respected physician in Louisville on the label. Dr. William Forrester was that doctor, and Old Forrester was born. Others followed this and bottled and labeled their own whiskey. Later Brown-Foreman dropped an “r” after Doctor Forrester passed away, and it became Old Forester. Old Forester is the only bourbon around today that was produced before, during and after Prohibition, and owned by the same company!

  1882R.B. Hayden started up his distillery and used his grandfather’s recipe from 1796. Hayden puts a picture of him on the label and called it Old Grand Dad!

  1887Edmund Taylor started up the Old Taylor Distillery and, at great cost, made it resemble a castle with elaborate sunken gardens. He was one of the first to realize that giving tours there and holding receptions and other events would help build his brands.

  1888Four Roses distillery opened.

  1893Wayne B. Wheeler teamed up with Rev. Howard Hyde Russell in Russell’s recently formed Anti-Saloon League (ASL). Wheeler coined the term “pressure group” to turn up the heat on championing Prohibition.

  1897Bottled in Bond Act, the very first consumer protection in the history of the United States. Bonded whiskey had to be aged for four years and bottled at exactly 100 proof. It had to come from one distillery and be barreled in one season (January to December). Colonel Edmund Taylor was a galvanizing voice behind this bill.

  1899Carry Nation (born in Garrard County, Kentucky, ironically) joined the Temperance Movement in Kansas. She was arrested 30 times between 1900 and 1910 for smashing up saloons and their liquor with hammers (you gotta hand it to the old broad for style points, though), garnishing national attention for their cause. She died in 1911, which ironically was when my father, H. Joe Lubbers, was born!

  1906

  (JUNE 30)

  The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was enacted establishing three separate classes of whiskey:

  1. Straight whiskey

  2. Bonded whiskey

  3. Imitation whiskey – product of rectifiers and compounders

  The Pure Food and Drug Act mandated that specified drugs, which included alcohol, be accurately labeled with contents and dosage. (Also labeled were cocaine, opium, heroin, morphine and cannabis indicta.) The Pure Food and Drug Act eventually led to the start of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as we know it now.

  1909

  (DECEMBER)

  The Taft Decision formally defined the types of whiskey still present today. Taft said that for a whiskey to be called “straight,” water was the only thing that could be added. If anything other than water was added to the whiskey, it must be called a “blended” whiskey.

  1914

  (DECEMBER 22)

  A version of a Prohibition amendment came up for a vote in the House of Representatives. The vote went 197 for Prohibition and 190 against. Not a two-thirds majority, but a sign of the changing winds.

  1914-1918Distillation nearly ceased in order to focus on the war effort to produce neutral grain spirits to make fuels to run war machinery and to manufacture gun powder. Distilleries made some whiskey, but the bulk of what they made went to government contracts which were not as lucrative as selling whiskey on the open market. So Kentucky distillers had much to do with aiding the war effort and defeating the Axis powers.

  1914-1920Beer/liquor industry was the fifth largest employer in the U.S.

  1918Pre Prohibition: Nassau, Bahamas received 500 gallons of Scotch Whisky and London Gin from the U.K. A little suspicious? Or good timing?

  1919Volstead Act passed creating Prohibition … the “Great Experiment.” Only a few distilleries were licensed to keep bottling and selling (but not producing) bourbon whiskey for medicinal purposes, which required a prescription. Distilleries could not distill during Prohibition, so they had to use the aging stocks on hand that had already been distilled and barreled before Prohibition.

  1920

  (JANUARY 17)

  Distilleries, breweries, saloons and liquor stores were closed. A dark sad day indeed, and if anybody ever needed a drink, it was on that day…unless you had a prescription. To fill those prescriptions, 13 million gallons of bourbon were aging in Kentucky. They would run completely out of that supply by the end of Prohibition.

  1920-1933It was noted that from time to time many a resident of the Bourbon Capital of the World, Bardstown, Kentucky, would spot shiny black cars with Illinois license plates, seemingly heavily loaded down in the rear, making their way back north. Could these cars be tracked to Al Capone and other mobsters? Surely not!

  1921One year into Prohibition: Nassau, Bahamas received 1,000,000 gallons of Scotch Whisky and London Gin from the U.K. as it passed through their docks and then to the U.S. via rum runners.

  1921-1932Andrew Mellon served as Secretary of the Treasury and was also an owner of the Old Overholt Rye Whiskey Distillery in Pennsylvania.

  1929

  (DECEMBER 7)

  Stitzel -Weller and a handful of distilleries were granted permission under special licenses to run batches of whiskey for medicinal purposes from depleted stocks from the last nine years. This gave a select few the jump start they would need to have some stocks ready if and when Prohibition ever ended.

  1933

  (DECEMBER 5)

  Prohibition was repealed under F.D.R. Bottoms Up!

  1934

  (MARCH 14)

  Colonel Beam wrote up an invoice and purchase order for his first mash after teaming up with Chicago partners and purchasing and tooling up the old Murphy Barber Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. Fifty other distilleries would reopen for a total of 51 distilleries in Kentucky. Colonel Beam spent $1,190.48 for grains, barrels, labor, taxes and a bond permit.

  1936Under the New Deal to help jump-start jobs, F.D.R. wrote into the Pure Food and Drug Act that bourbon barrels had to use brand new charred oak.

  1938Churchill Downs announced the official drink of the Kentucky Derby: the mint julep, and it continues to be the official drink today. During the Kentucky Oaks on F
riday and The Kentucky Derby on Saturday, 150,000 mint juleps are consumed. It all started on that First Saturday in May of 1938. The winner that year was Lawrin, with Eddie Arcaro aboard.

  1939National Distillers commissioned a bust to be carved of Basil Hayden for the label of Old Grand Dad. This was to note that Old Grand Dad was the “head of the bourbon family.” Before, it was a cartoon-like drawing that adorned the label.

  1942WWII–Just after returning to business after Prohibition, distilleries were again “drafted” to make ethanol for the manufacture of gun powder and other fuels for the war effort. This dealt another blow to Kentucky and other bourbon distillers who were just getting back on their feet from Prohibition. In part, if it wasn’t for Kentucky bourbon, we just might all be sprechen sie Deutschen and working at Japanese car plants today.

  1940s, ’50s,

  ’60s AND

  EVEN TODAY

  Moonshiners hired runners to drive their whiskey (usually at night under the shine of the moon) to customers. The Flock boys, Junior Johnson, the Pettys and others soup up their Fords, Dodges and Chevys to outrun the cops. Bill France Senior figured out how to organize these good ole’ boys to see who was the fastest, and in 1947 NASCAR was born. Junior Johnson won the second Daytona 500 shortly after serving nine months for moonshining.

  1950sBourbon distillers began to lower the alcohol content of some labels from Bottled in Bond 100 proof to 86 proof (one of the ways we have come to know to kill or “86” something). This was done to match the more popular vodka and gin markets and to cut costs to keep bourbon viable in the market. At this time, brands were bought and sold to keep money coming in. Lots of distilleries were sold off or closed, and many labels went from being Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskies to cheaper blends and other whiskies.

  1964Congress declared bourbon the native spirit of the United States. Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law. To be called bourbon, it must be produced in the United States.

  1950s-1960sSoldiers in the military stationed overseas were able to purchase Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and Jack Daniels very cheaply at the PX. Some industrious among the ranks would purchase or get vouchers from their Southern Baptist and other nondrinking buddies. They would then sell the vouchers to pub owners in European villages next to the base for those soldiers on R&R wanting a taste from back home. This was how Jim Beam and other products were “distributed” throughout Europe and Asia, and how those locals also got a taste of bourbon and whiskey from the United States.

  1966I made my first mint julep at seven years of age. My Aunt Bernadine allowed me to make the family Derby Julep to be passed around during the race. The winner of the Run for the Roses that year was Kauai King with Don Brumfield up!

  LATE 1960sVodka overtook gin as the # 1 spirit sold in the United States. A movie in which the lead character enjoyed his vodka martini “shaken, not stirred” boosted sales.

  1970sBourbon companies sold off labels and just tried to survive with the few brands that were moving. However, blended scotches and Canadian Club and Seagram’s and American blends were booming.

  Elmer T. Lee produced Blanton’s Single-Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It was 93 proof, about $45 a bottle, and only available in Kentucky. With Blanton’s, Elmer T. Lee and Ancient Age Distillery created a new category. Keep in mind, bourbon sales were stagnant. Blanton’s was well received, but by no means did the $45 bottle of single-barrel bourbon fly off the shelves.

  1986-87Jim Beam’s grandson, Booker Noe, produced what he called “small-batch bourbon” to distinguish his Booker’s from his friend Elmer T. Lee’s “single barrel.” At around the same time, Booker’s cousin, Parker Beam at Heaven Hill, came out with Elijah Craig, which is made from a run of 70 barrels or less. Small batch could mean something different from distillers Parker and Craig Beam, Fred Noe, to Eddie Russell. But each would still be small batch since they were not from a single barrel.

  1991

  (MARCH)

  Malt Advocate magazine launched its first issue. Malt Advocate covers whiskies from all over the world, and its journalists are some of the most respected in the industry.

  1992The first Bourbon Fest was held in Bardstown, and hundreds of people attended. Today 55,000 people from 43 states and 13 countries attend Bourbon Fest on the third weekend in September.

  1998Malt Advocate magazine held its first “WhiskyFest,” which sold out. They have since expanded to Chicago and San Francisco, and every event is always sold out in advance.

  1999Whisky Magazine was first published as a response to the rising interest and sales of single-malt scotches, small- batch/single-barrel bourbons, Irish, and Japanese whiskies. Based in London, the magazine is closer in proximity to scotch and Irish distilleries, but they make annual trips to Kentucky, and their journalists travel all over the world and are highly regarded as some of the best in the business.

  2000I believe this was the start of the second Golden Age of Bourbon. Not since Ben Parley Moore talked about that “unequalled old bourbon” in 1857 has bourbon been so recognized and enjoyed.

  2007The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring September “National Bourbon Heritage Month.” With Bourbon Fest being held each September in the bourbon capital of the world, Bardstown, Kentucky, the Senate acknowledged the rich history and heritage that bourbon has contributed to the United States.

  2008

  (JUNE)

  2012 those numbers are projected to reach 250,000 visiting each distiller, with a total of two million visiting the Bourbon Trail overall.

  Bourbon Review magazine hit the stand with its first publication. Based in Lexington, in the heart of Kentucky, this marked the first magazine to cover bourbon and no other whisk[e]y. Now that’s making a stand!

  2012Enjoy being right smack in the second Golden Age of Bourbon!

  Visiting Kentucky and the Distilleries, and You WILL

  “I only drink two fingers of bourbon each day. Of course I use my index and pinky fingers.” – Jimmy Russell, Master Distiller Emeritus, Wild Turkey

  “May there be no hell...” –Booker Noe

  “…and if there is, I’ll see you there.” –Fred Noe

  So you’re a member of the bourbon family now and inspired to come visit us down on the Bourbon Trail. Of course you are! I’m telling you, once you visit, you’ll be back. They all come back. Year after year, the biggest celebrities and political figures come back to Kentucky for the Derby and just to visit. It’s a great place, a fun place, and, as a nice bonus, it’s not that expensive to visit. Since we are in the heart of the country, a large percentage of the population can just drive here.

  We are in the second Golden Age of Bourbon. Why wouldn’t you want to feel, smell, hold, and taste history? Not since Ben Parley Moore wrote his employer about that “unequalled old bourbon” has there been such unbridled enthusiasm about bourbons.

  Napa Valley has hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. I’ve been myself, and it’s wonderful. San Francisco is where most people stay and then drive up to the wine country. Then they come back and enjoy the food and nightlife of one of the most stunning cities in the world. The Bourbon Trail is very similar and much more accessible to most of the country than San Francisco. I would argue it is also just as stunning (just a different kind of stunning).

  On the Bourbon Trail are the distilleries in Kentucky that welcome more than 250,000 visitors each year. Come on by anytime, but I’d avoid mid-July through August, since most distilleries do not distill during the hottest months. If you’d like a recommendation about the best times, I’d first suggest coming the third weekend in September for the Bourbon Festival. Also, Keeneland race track is open every April and October in Lexington, and Churchill Downs is running every May and November. I’d just avoid the last week of April and the first Saturday in May which is Derby, unless you have a bucket of money to get a hotel. Thunder Over Louisville in April is the largest fireworks display in the world and is one of the coolest days/ni
ghts ever. It’s the opening ceremonies of the Kentucky Derby Festival, and throughout the day there is an air show, while 600,000 people assemble downtown for the world’s largest fireworks display over the Ohio River at night. Military cannons roar as fireworks light up downtown for miles. Don’t believe me? Find it on YouTube, then go to www.thunderoverlouisville.org and you’ll see. Hotels downtown can get pricey, but you can still find some deals, and it’s quite something, especially if you have children.

  Don’t bite off more than you can chew when visiting the distilleries. You can only visit two on a given day. Don’t try to do three, you just won’t make it. Trust me.

  WESTERN SHELF DISTILLERIES AND ATTRACTIONS

  Split them in to two days to visit distilleries and the cooperage: