An excessive amount of typeface is dedicated to discussion of taxes on Whiskey, which is quoted as rates beginning in the 1700s (but not translated into 2020 dollars, so it is pretty meaningless) and the method of taxation is still foreign to me ( is it based on percent alcohol, on dollar value, on liquid measurement ?). The author primarily focuses on the legal and political history of bourbon distilleries (much of the book is devoted to prohibition and one of the 12 chapters is about industrial alcohol production during WWII). What I learned was some history about this whiskey, from the time of the early settlement of Kentucky to 2010 or so.

I was hoping to learn a lot about Bourbon from this book. He studies the men who've been championed as its inventors over time-from Daniel Boone's cousin to Baptist minister Elijah Craig-and, based on new research and never-before-seen documentation, answers the question of who deserves the credit.īook # 3 prep for my upcoming Tenn/Ky Road Trip. And most importantly, Minnick explores the mystery of who most likely created the sweet corn liquor we now know as bourbon. He also lays out in expert detail the critical role this spirit has played throughout the cultural and even political history of the nation-from Congress passing whiskey-protection laws to consumers standing in long lines just for a glimpse of a rare bottle of Pappy Van Winkle-complemented by more than 100 illustrations and photos.

In Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, award-winning spirits author Fred Minnick traces bourbon's entire history, from the 1700s with Irish, Scottish, and French settlers setting up stills and making distilled spirits in the New World through today's booming resurgence. From the early days of raw corn liquor to the myriad distilleries that have proliferated around the country today, bourbon has come to symbolize America. Once and for all, America learns the likely inventor of its beloved bourbon.īourbon is not just alcohol-this amber-colored drink is deeply ingrained in American culture and tangled in American history.

Bourbon the rise fall and rebirth