Kentucky Bourbon: The Early Years of Whiskeymaking

by Henry G. Crowgey

Bourbon whiskey is perhaps Kentucky's most distinctive product. Despite bourbon's prominence in the social and economic life of the Bluegrass state, many myths and legends surround its origins. In Kentucky Bourbon, Henry C. Crowgey claims that distilled spirits and pioneer settlement went hand in hand; Isaac Shelby, the state's first governor, was among Kentucky's pioneer distillers. Crowgey traces the drink's history from its beginnings as a cottage industry to steam-based commercial operations in the period just before the Civil War. From "spirited" camp meetings, to bourbon's use as a medium of exchange for goods and services, to the industry's coming of age in the mid-nineteenth century, the story of Kentucky bourbon is a fascinating chapter in the state's early history.

Genres: History, Booze, Nonfiction

190 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1982

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched and well-written, but (ironically) dry account of the whiskey industry in Kentucky in the 18th and early 19th century. Still, nothing else really like it is out there, so it's worth reading if you're interested in the topic.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well researched and well-written, but the content lags in places. There is interesting documentation of very early production and consumption of spirits in America and specifically in what became Kentucky, but the questions that are answered were not always that interesting to me. I do love all the old-timey language about the benefits and evils of alcohol.

[Mark Seketa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially good for a history buff it explains a lot of where the big names in whiskey come from and why those names are important. This said it might be called a The Early Years of Alcohol in the United States as there's nearly as much discussion of the issues of Brandy and other spirits as there is of whiskey.

[Glenn L. Krum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very early years

A well documented history of Kentucky's distilling business during the late 1700's to about the Civil War period. Interesting more from a Kentucky history perspective and the issues and business men of the day than on fine bourbon whiskey, which must come later in Kentucky's history.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good at points, dull at points, but overall worth reading if you are interested in the subject at all. My formal review will be published in an upcoming issue of Tennessee Libraries, so I'll spout off more there.

[Kevin Kosar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few scholarly works on the history of whiskey in America. It came out 38 years ago, yet the University of Kentucky Press keeps it in print because it is darn good...(read more)

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good coverage of general details. There are no personal journals or letters to provide depth to this work nor is there anything on the chemistry or much on the engineering.

[Patrick Dempsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-sourced if slightly dry, history of the earliest period of American distilling.