A brief history of American whiskey.
The story of American whiskey is a turbulent one. From myths and legends, rebellion, prohibition, resurgence, fall, and rise to prominence.
A brief run-through of whiskey’s journey to where we are now. In the beginning, there was un-aged rye whiskey brought by European settlers. Shortly after the Revolution, there was a Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. The dispute over the government’s tax on spirits ended peacefully. But it caused some farmers to raft down the Ohio River to Kentucky. Let’s be clear. No one knows precisely where the name bourbon comes from. Who was the first to distill it, or who decided to age it in charred oak barrels? There is a lot of speculation, and certain brands market themselves as the first but take it all with a grain of salt.
By the 1840s, farmers were distilling whiskey from corn mash and aging in charred oak barrels. At the time, distillers sold the entire barrel to bars and retailers, which led to rectifiers. The rectifiers blend cheap whiskey with other ingredients (most not good for your health) and sell it for a profit. It is where the term rotgut is born. To protect their brands and product distilleries, petitioned the government to intervene. This created the “Bottled in Bond Act of 1897”. To be bottled in bond, a whiskey must be made at one distillery, distilled in one season by the same master distiller. Aged 4 years in a bonded warehouse, monitored by the U.S. Treasury, and bottled at 100 proof. This type of scrutiny guarantees that whiskey is pure.
Some people are never happy. As were many distillers that thought the Bottled in Bond Act was too strict. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 put a ban on mislabeled and/or altered food and drug products. The act did not define whiskey, so in 1909 President Taft created the regulatory definition.
Whiskey must be made from grain.
A product that was all aged grain spirits was to be labeled “Straight Whiskey.”
If high-proof unaged grain distillate (“neutral spirits”) is flavored with a percentage of whiskey, it had to be labeled as blended.
In 1920, the Volstead Act, known as prohibition, made it illegal to produce. The long term effects on whiskey during prohibition is another story.
Prohibition ended in 1933, and whiskey sees a resurgence, but this time not with rye whiskey—this new (relatively speaking) whiskey known as bourbon. In 1938 the government expanded the regulatory definition to include a new rule. Whiskey must be aged in new charred oak containers. It was not until 1964 that congress designated Bourbon Whiskey to be made in the united states.
The 70s and 80s saw a decline in whiskey sales and the rise of vodka. Most people thought of bourbon as their grandpas drink. The increase in the farm to table movement, crafts beer, and Mad Men has brought whiskey back to popularity. So much that certain brands struggle to keep up with demand.
The history of American whiskey is full of stories, myths, and legends. These stories are great for dinner parties, but the facts are as exciting as the myths. How individual distilleries survived prohibition to shape the current landscape. How government subsidies on corn might have played a roll in the growth of bourbon. Something I am happy to geek out about, but for now, you get the short version. Yes, this is an abridged version.
Until next time cheers!
Jake
