In honor of Independence Day, here’s a brief introduction to whiskeys produced in the United States.
In the beginning, Scotch and Irish immigrants in the late 18th century had a hard time distilling the spirits they were used to back in their native countries because the barley that grew in such abundance back home wouldn’t take where they settled in western Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the German immigrants who were also settling into the area had a long history of distilling rye into schnapps, and eventually rye-based whiskey became the dominant spirit distilled along the northeastern United States.
Around the turn of the 19th century, many distillers fleeing from the revenuers following the Whiskey Rebellion settled in the newly formed Bourbon County in the Western regions of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Named for the Royal House of France as a gesture of appreciation for their assistance during the American Revolution, Bourbon County was eventually assigned to the newly formed Commonwealth of Kentucky. Distillers there found the water to be particularly clean due to the limestone shelf that the regions rests on naturally distilling the water, and that the dominant grain growing there was corn, and thus the spirits distilled from them were quite distinct from what was made back East.
Distillers who sought to distribute their product at the time had to rely on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for transport, this predating the railroads and highway system, and in order to identify their port of origin, casks from the region had “Bourbon County” impressed upon them. At the same time, distillers also began charring the inside of the barrels (either by design or by industrial accident, depending on whom you ask) the spirits were shipped in. By the time the whiskey reached New Orleans and all points beyond, the spirit had mellowed in the barrel, and imbibers, knowing a quality beverage when they tasted it, began to specifically ask for “Bourbon whiskey”. Shortly thereafter, around the middle of the 19th century, distillers in Lincoln County, Tennessee learned that filtering their spirits through maple charcoal before barreling made for an even mellower flavor, thus establishing Tennessee whiskeys as a distinct product.
American whiskey was a healthy and prosperous industry until Prohibition ended the party for everyone. Some distilleries continued to produce moonshine illegally; some were licensed to produce “medicinal” whiskey, but most simply repurposed themselves or closed entirely, never to produce another drop again. When prohibition was repealed in 1933, Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys were eventually able to compete with the blended Scotch whiskies that had gained favor during the dark years, but the rye whiskeys of the Northeast never fully recovered.
Riding the coat-tails of the Single Malt Scotch movement in the late 1980s, Bourbon producers began marketing Single Barrel Bourbons to compete in the super-premium whiskey market. Kentucky distillers who had produced rye whiskey periodically for niche markets found renewed interest in historical techniques and recipes by the early 21st century, and thus a renewed demand for rye whiskeys. Shortly thereafter, craft brewers in the U.S. began experimenting with spent wort and distilling it into spirits, kick-starting what looks to be the next trend in American whiskeys.
Happy Independence Day, all.
Salud.
In the beginning, Scotch and Irish immigrants in the late 18th century had a hard time distilling the spirits they were used to back in their native countries because the barley that grew in such abundance back home wouldn’t take where they settled in western Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the German immigrants who were also settling into the area had a long history of distilling rye into schnapps, and eventually rye-based whiskey became the dominant spirit distilled along the northeastern United States.
Around the turn of the 19th century, many distillers fleeing from the revenuers following the Whiskey Rebellion settled in the newly formed Bourbon County in the Western regions of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Named for the Royal House of France as a gesture of appreciation for their assistance during the American Revolution, Bourbon County was eventually assigned to the newly formed Commonwealth of Kentucky. Distillers there found the water to be particularly clean due to the limestone shelf that the regions rests on naturally distilling the water, and that the dominant grain growing there was corn, and thus the spirits distilled from them were quite distinct from what was made back East.
Distillers who sought to distribute their product at the time had to rely on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for transport, this predating the railroads and highway system, and in order to identify their port of origin, casks from the region had “Bourbon County” impressed upon them. At the same time, distillers also began charring the inside of the barrels (either by design or by industrial accident, depending on whom you ask) the spirits were shipped in. By the time the whiskey reached New Orleans and all points beyond, the spirit had mellowed in the barrel, and imbibers, knowing a quality beverage when they tasted it, began to specifically ask for “Bourbon whiskey”. Shortly thereafter, around the middle of the 19th century, distillers in Lincoln County, Tennessee learned that filtering their spirits through maple charcoal before barreling made for an even mellower flavor, thus establishing Tennessee whiskeys as a distinct product.
American whiskey was a healthy and prosperous industry until Prohibition ended the party for everyone. Some distilleries continued to produce moonshine illegally; some were licensed to produce “medicinal” whiskey, but most simply repurposed themselves or closed entirely, never to produce another drop again. When prohibition was repealed in 1933, Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys were eventually able to compete with the blended Scotch whiskies that had gained favor during the dark years, but the rye whiskeys of the Northeast never fully recovered.
Riding the coat-tails of the Single Malt Scotch movement in the late 1980s, Bourbon producers began marketing Single Barrel Bourbons to compete in the super-premium whiskey market. Kentucky distillers who had produced rye whiskey periodically for niche markets found renewed interest in historical techniques and recipes by the early 21st century, and thus a renewed demand for rye whiskeys. Shortly thereafter, craft brewers in the U.S. began experimenting with spent wort and distilling it into spirits, kick-starting what looks to be the next trend in American whiskeys.
Happy Independence Day, all.
Salud.
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