what proof was whiskey in the 1800s
Though they were producing whiskey, its quality had to have been questionable. In the 1790s American distilled spirits (whiskey, gin, rye, bourbon, etc.) Even aspirin, which was discovered in 1849, wasnt used medicinally until the end of the century. In the years between the settling of Kentucky and the Civil War, many minor and a few major events started to affect the whiskey business in America. I do not care to live in a world that is too good to be genial; too ascetic to be honest, too proscriptive to be happy. Jere had worked with his father for two years before his death. But in a strange, labyrinthine manner, this new batch of concerned citizens not only did what they set out to do (for which they deserve much accolade), but they also paved the path for the return to the bold, rich flavors of straight American whiskey. Methyl alcohol has a direct affect on the optic nerve, and as little as one ounce has been known to cause death. By 1820, over 25 percent of the total U.S. population lived west of the Appalachians, and by that time, steamboats had replaced the flatboats and were plying the Mississippi laden with Kentucky whiskey. Here are the 12 best bourbon whiskey brands you should be drinking in 2023. . After news of the occurrence reached the ears of similar-minded women around the country, over 50,000 promoters of temperance followed suit. Therefore, to find the creator of bourbon, we must for the character most likely to have put them all together. His son, another T. W. Samuels, took over operations after Leslies death and ran it until 1943. According to William S. McFeely, author of Grant, A Biography, although both Grant and Babcock were confronted with this very damning evidence, Babcock insisted that the telegrams were about something other than the Whiskey Ring, and Grant sided with him. Within four years he was selling whiskey. So when did the whiskey-makers start aging their products? Rye, another European grain, was a hardy crop that took root and fared well almost immediately in the middle colonies, and since the Europeans were accustomed to working with rye grain, they turned to it as the next best thing to barley. In Kentucky Bourbon--The Early Years of Whiskeymaking, Henry G. Crowgey describes an 1821 newspaper advertisement for bourbon whiskey, so its fairly safe to assume that the distiller of that time knew that the readers would understand what it was he had for sale. proof), but by 1865 they had risen to a whopping $2 per gallon, the exact same amount that would be levied after Repeal, almost 70 years later. In 1826, a league, The American Temperance Society, was founded in Boston, and it was a society that distillers would come to dread. Well, he certainly didnt want to use his own name on them--they were, after all, fairly incriminating--and it seems that Babcock and McDonald used Sylphs name as a kind of inside joke when exchanging correspondence. Just over six months later, when Prohibition was repealed, the beer, wine, and spirits industries had to devise codes of their own. The plant produced Tom Moore Bourbon in 1879, and Mattingly & Moore Bourbon by 1896. And while they had the governments attention, the distillers took the opportunity to have them look at the fact that paying taxes on unaged whiskey, a product that couldnt yet be sold, was another problem that should be dealt with. Whiskey bonds became a very valuable commodity. Rye whiskey was still very popular during the early twentieth century, and the number of bottlings of Pennsylvania Rye or Monongahela rye whiskey generally outnumbered the bourbons in advertisements of the time. A. Smith Bowman, a farmer in Virginia who had been in the whiskey business prior to Prohibition, started making Virginia Gentleman bourbon in 1935. Colony did a very thorough job and accumulated enough data to place John McDonald (the St. Louis-based superintendent of the Internal Revenue) at the head of the Whiskey Ring. Fact was, that by passing on the taxes to the general public, whiskey had become too expensive for the common man. They had fought the law. The Reawakening of the American Whiskey Business. The Whiskey Ring, as it became known, involved some cohorts of President Grants skimming more than a few tax dollars from the whiskey men--and the country. New markets were opening up, and the whiskey business was becoming more and more profitable. And at times, the reverse is true--whiskey has affected the nation itself. Liquor, beer, and wine have long been popular targets of taxation for governments in need of a few extra dollars for two very simple reasons: Beverage alcohol is produced from food, be it fruit, sugar, or grain, but it is not necessary to sustain life. Drinking was still legal in some areas of the country--but not for too very much longer. Their company would later merge with the Weller company and become known as Stitzel-Weller. This figure, of course, is somewhat difficult to comprehend until you learn that the same table estimates that, using the same criteria, in 1970, consumption was at 2.5 gallons. (Many stories might never have met their deadlines if the hard-drinking journalists of yesteryear werent able to knock back a shot or two.) John H. Beam (Early Times Bourbon), Davids other son, was co-owner of the Early Times Distillery in 1860. A: Because charring the inside of a cask reduces it to a kind of charcoal; and charcoal (by absorbing animal and vegetable impurities) keeps the liquor [liquid] sweet and good. But this document, assuming the 1854 date is within fifty years of the publication date, is from the nineteenth century. In 1908, she even ventured to Britain and Ireland, where she spread the word of Jesus and His dislike of neighborhood taverns. Even before the turn of the century, the rum business had been winding down. The Trust had effective ways of dealing with these offenders and with those who wanted to remain independent--they destroyed their distilleries. Frenchman Jean Pierre Brissot wrote of his 1788 trip to Boston (Nouveau Voyage dans les tats-Unis de lAmrique septentrionale, 1791), The rum distilleries are on the decline since the suppression of the slave trade, in which this liquor was employed. Then, in 1807, the Embargo Act restricted the importation of molasses from British ports, and the following year, the importation of slaves was made illegal altogether, completely destroying the triangle trade among the U.S., Africa, and the West Indies. The distillers supplied bars and saloons with decanters and bottles that bore the distillers name and could be used to pour their product, but it wasnt at all uncommon for cheap whiskey to be poured from its cask into decanters that advertised a more-expensive product. One of the women who had joined the Womens Crusade and was president of the WTCU. But 21 years had passed since Prohibition had taken such wonderful, big-bodied, rich, flavorful whiskeys away from the public. Six distilleries were given permits to sell medicinal whiskey during Prohibition--A. Ph. This all began back in 2018 when Jack Daniel's started building six of new barrel houses in the area, with plans to build . Its easy to see that national prohibition was inevitable sooner or later. Even by 1939 when Charles H. Baker Jr.s excellent book, The Gentlemans Companion, was published, the author noted that vodka was unnecessary to medium or small bars.. By the turn of the century, total abstinence was the goal. Browns goal was to assure the public that they would finally know exactly what whiskey was in the bottle. They held public meetings to discuss the matter, one of which resulted in a declaration that anyone trying to collect the taxes would be viewed as an enemy of society. Still, the government had made some changes and provided a modicum of relief for the whiskey industry, and the years that followed were to shape the business into what it has become today. And even east--to exotic ports such as New York City where, according to Luc Sante, author of Low Life, Lures and Snares of Old New York, for under a nickel, you could drink all the whiskey you could manage by sucking it through a rubber tube until you had to stop to take a breath. Another liquor was far easier and much less expensive to produce, and it was about to become one of the first industries in America. Brown-Forman (Old Forester, Early Times) had a supply of aged whisky on hand to kick off the 1933 celebrations. The adventurous and the curious started moving farther away from the East Coast, boosting the whiskey business as they progressed westward. In the twentieth century, Alcoholics Anonymous went on to prove his point. It was a grand system that had actually been around since about 1870 when bottles became more common as a way of packaging whiskey, but as local Prohibition spread, drinkers in dry areas began writing away for whiskey like never before, and they were treated to some marvelous offers and premiums. J. W. Dant (Yellowstone and J. W. Dant Bourbons) set up his still (the famous log) in 1836. In 1777, the newly formed United States of America adopted the Stars and Stripes as the Continental Congress flag, and George Washington was concerned that his troops didnt have enough liquor. However, many of the residents of these states sided with the Confederate cause--states rights. Colonel Albert B. Blanton became plant manager at the George T. Stagg distillery in 1912. While the United States was searching for an identity, certain families were forming the basis for what were to become major whiskey empires. A Few Other Whiskey Men Who Appeared in Kentucky Before 1800, All of these families helped bring the tradition of American whiskey-making into the nineteenth and right through to the twentieth century. The sporting attraction of the forbidden and the dangerous leads to violations. This passage shows the fallacy of the position taken by some agitators that even though wine was used authoritatively in Bible times, it was home-made wine only, and not bought and sold.. (America was mainly a rye whiskey country until the early-1800s.) When it's good, it's good. By the turn of the century, over 350,000 people had settled in Kentucky. His whiskeys, Old Crow and Old Pepper, were very popular during the Civil War, and he has always been hailed as the man who not only made good bourbon, but also knew exactly why his bourbon was good. Whiskey has always been stored in wooden casks, but not always for very long, and not always in charred barrels. And America was still producing Pure Malt whiskeys at the time--in 1913, a dozen bottles of Regans (no relation) Pure Malt Whiskey would cost a mere six bucks, whereas four quarts of I. W. Harper brought $5 on the mail-order market. They were out to prevent accidents and to help those with a drinking problem take care of themselves. Jack Daniel opened his Tennessee distillery in 1866. In 1816, a company, registered in New England, incorporated in Kentucky under the name of the Hope Distilling Company; it was a very big venture--many years before its time. In 1804, Franois Andr Michaux wrote, Kentuckians have preserved the manners of the Virginians. The following month over 300 people (distillers and government employees) were arrested for their involvement in the Whiskey Ring, and everyone was certain that justice was being served. It's a tightly regulated product that must be produced in the United States and has a few distinct characteristics. The years between 1920 and 1933 are usually associated with speakeasies, bootleggers, bathtub gin, and gangsters, and, indeed, for some, those were the highlights of the decade. Further amendments to the law made it possible to actually distill whiskey (during distilling holidays) that would be used for medicinal purposes. It has come to solve the liquor problem.. John D. Rockefeller, Sr. had paved the way with Standard Oil and all it took after that was a few clever men in Peoria, Illinois. It reads that there were only 1800 bottles produced in this one-time release. Tastes had changed, and blended whiskeys had become increasingly popular. By most accounts, Prohibition wasnt so dry after all. This shape is used, primarily, so that the bands that hold the barrel together can be tightened around the wider mid-section of the barrel, thus pushing the staves closer together and forming a watertight--or whiskeytight--seal. Schenley, under the guidance of its owner, Lewis Rosenstiel, had acquired a number of distilleries, brand names, and quite a stock of whiskey during Prohibition. When Grant was elected U.S. president in 1868, the whole countrys relief was palpable. Whiskey shipped west in the 1800s might have started out as bourbon but along the way it was watered down and mixed with other ingredients to expand the supply and increase profits. . The following year, 1792, the government reduced the taxes a little (down to around 7 per gallon from 11, dependent on proof), and Kentucky finally became a state. Russian businessman Peter A. Demens wrote about their nasty business in Sketches of the North American United States, 1895, Several weeks ago the Illinois whiskey trust by hired agents dynamited a distillery in Chicago that refused to enter the combine.. Dating back to 1608, this brand has stood the test of time and not much has changed since the beginning. The association felt compelled to keep the government informed of the drawbacks of Prohibition; stressing mainly, that without taxes from alcohol, the economy was suffering; that farmers had lost a market for their grains and the surplus subsequently had brought grain prices down, and that unemployment in related industries was rising steadily. These simple labels say only "Overholt Rye Whiskey" with a year printed in red. Instead, they would sell the entire batch of spirits and the resultant whiskey, although it wouldnt make you blind, was a far cry from the pure, bold red liquor that the whiskey men had fought for at the turn of the century. In this same speech Lincoln stated his belief that people would be more likely to stop drinking if, instead of being preached to about the evils of alcohol, they were shown examples of how sobriety would enhance their lives. So, during the Civil War, more than a little red liquor was poured over a wound to clean it and much, much more was poured down parched throats to depress awareness and ease the pain of countrymen fighting countrymen on their own land. However, the treasury was not to be deterred. McDonald was somewhat of an old pal of the Presidents, having been recommended for his position by more than a couple of Julia Grants familys friends. Think about this: Early farmers, from time to time, must have had a bumper crop of grains. Babcock became an Inspector of Lighthouses and drowned in 1884; McDonald was found guilty of his crimes in 1875, fined $5,000, and sentenced to three years imprisonment--but was pardoned, less than two years later, by President Hayes. They were shipping whiskey to all sorts of colorful Western towns--Laramie, Tombstone, Dodge City--but it wasnt always too good; much was completely unaged and cut with water. Now he can instead buy his own car, and ride off for a weekend or a few days with his wife and children in the country or at the sea. Just over two years later, on January 17, 1920, after the Volstead Act that enabled the National Prohibition Law, had been passed by 287 votes to 100, the nation was officially dry. Fortunately, however, the government rethought their actions when they realized that much of the whiskey being consumed at the time wasnt being taxed at all. There is no doubt that liquor was being abused, and one fellow, George Garvin Brown, creator of the Old Forester brand and a founder member of the Wine and Spirits Association (W S A), did take steps to counter the prohibition movement. In the U.S., almost one million people had signed the pledge by 1840, and the angst about over-consumption continued to grow. First, they made beer. The most avid of these budding aficionadas and aficionados worked at learning about their drinks. Precursor to modern happy hours, the feast included caviar, Virginia ham, canaps, and thirst-provoking anchovies in various-tinted guises. The idea, of course, was to lure men there for a free lunch and sell them as much beer and liquor as possible in the interim. WhistlePig is touting this new expression as the " first-ever super-aged North American Single Malt," claiming its 21-year age statement is "more than twice as long as the oldest American Single Malt.". Finally, small-batch whiskey, single-barrel whiskey, and wheated bourbon, were getting their fair share of attention. Luckily for us, a few of the business types had deep pockets and a long-term view, and these were the distillers who continued to make good whiskey. Follow the American Whiskey Trail and the Distilled Spirits Council on Twitter! 84 Proof which pays homage to the year 1984 when the Montana State Men's . During the year before his death in 1799, it has been estimated that he earned a considerable profit from his distillery, and had upwards of 150 gallons of whiskey left in storage. Demand was diminished--and things didnt change a great deal until some learned spirits aficionados decided that whiskey wasnt getting enough attention and started to shed some light on the intricacies of single malt Scotch in the 1980s. Liquor in the 19th Century. In 1864, David M. Beam, owner of the Old Tub distillery, was blessed with child--the one and only Jim Beam. But whether or not they were shipping their product in charred casks is highly debatable; we know only that that particular practice became popular in the fifty-some years that followed. And although the Governor of New Yorks office wasnt mentioned in the telegram, it is said that, even during the dry years, Franklin D. Roosevelt was wont to serve cocktails from his desk every afternoon at four. Daniel Boone first ventured into the eastern part of what would become Kentucky on a hunting expedition in 1767, and due, in part, to his reports of its bounty, the land soon acquired a somewhat idyllic status. These are mere incidents in its progress. Since good straight whiskey was hard to come by during the dry years, the public had become accustomed to gin. It just didnt taste the same. This bourbon was rested for 7 long years in hand-selected white oak barrels. You would think that you could trust something called the Whiskey Trust. Members lectured and wrote to prominent people on both sides of the issue trying to bank the fire a little. Meanwhile, Seagram introduced its Five Crown and Seven Crown blended whiskeys to the American public, and they were an unmitigated success. The same products from British colonies in the West Indies were not taxed, it was just a little gentle goading to remind the colonists where their allegiances should lay. These prices could be much higher in cities or for name brand liquors. 8During the first half of the nineteenth century, America also saw a vast increase in immigration from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany--all countries whose inhabitants are generally regarded to be fond of a drink. One thing was for sure--there would be major changes in the way the industry conducted itself. Its a grand way to do business: Pop into the town center with a few quarts of whiskey, trade one to the local seamstress in return for a new dress for the missus, another to the fishmonger who will supply you with dinner for the next four Fridays, and when the landlord is passing by, maybe you can persuade him to take a gallon of your finest whiskey in lieu of a few months rent. Whatever his product actually was, however, was strong enough to get a whole bunch of native Americans so drunk that they scalped and killed him in 1622. For some reason, everyone seems to want to know the name of the very first person to make bourbon. Liquor in the 18th century: History of Distilled Spirits. Also in 1935, the Austin Nichols company, previously concerned solely with the food business, took an interest in whiskey and other liquors. The tradesmen started watering down their whiskey in order to pay less and get more. The idea was that by attracting newcomers to the town, the surrounding land, owned by the same company, would grow in value. The traditional price for a bottle of cheap whiskey in a cowboy saloon was two bits (25 cents). Courtesy image. What they werent considering, of course, was that once the public grew accustomed to blended whiskey, chances were they would never return to the pure stuff. appearing to be friends of the law and just to round out his argument, Washington claimed that many persons in the said western parts of Pennsylvania have at length been hardy enough to perpetrate acts which I am advised amount to treason. However, several historians hypothesize that one of the goals behind Washingtons rallying federal troops to quash the Whiskey Rebellion, was to see whether or not the troops would muster. And Grant was returned to office in 1872. This date coincides nicely with George Garvin Browns 1870 decision to sell his Old Forester bourbon exclusively in sealed bottles. By the early 1940s, however, the distillers had managed to age sufficient quantities of straight whiskey to have an appreciable amount of good, aged bourbon and rye back on the shelves. A popular anecdote has it that a careless cooper accidentally let his staves catch fire and conveniently forgot to tell the distiller who bought the barrel about the mishap. The company went on to buy the Jack Daniel Distillery in the 1950s. They had no ruling monarch to worry about, could practice whatever religion they darned well pleased, and didnt have to pay any excise taxes, but that wasnt going to last too long--the nation had some debts that needed to be paid. In 1791, George Washington approved an excise tax on liquor. In his book, Nothing Better In The Market, John Ed Pearce says that only 10 such medicinal whiskey permits were applied for, and although the reasons for such a small number arent quite clear, it was possible that most people in the industry simply thought the permits not worth the bother. They wanted their own liquor. In that year, after further reducing the taxes but still not getting cooperation from the Pennsylvanians, George Washington, for the first time in the history of the United States, rallied federal troops to quell the uprising. Now and then one is caught, that must happen pro forma and then he must do time or, if he is wealthy enough, get someone to do time for him. DSI went on to merge with the Licensed Beverage Industries (formed in 1946) and the Bourbon Institute (formed in 1958) to become the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) in 1973. Not all farmers had stills, mind you, since stills were very expensive pieces of equipment. Distilling wasnt merely a case of, Oh, I have some extra grain, might as well make some whiskey. It was a much bigger decision than that. Furthermore, the solids left behind from the distillation process were usable as cattle feed, thus, for farmers, producing whiskey made darned good business sense. March 4, 1801: Thomas Jefferson takes his seat as the third U.S. president, where he will stay until 1809. They had the right idea, and if they just could have waited another 50 years or so, they might have made a fortune. Additionally, trademark and copyright rules were lax. In 1798 almost 200 Kentucky whiskey men were found guilty of making whiskey without a license (Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister, no less, among them). In short, where America has been, so has American whiskey--and where whiskey has traveled, so have Americans been influenced by its presence. Henry Hudson Wathen (whose family kept the Old Grand-Dad label alive in the late nineteenth century) began distilling whiskey in Kentucky in 1788. Glenmore Distilleries (Kentucky Tavern, among others) survived Prohibition well and went on to become major producers and importers of a number of liquors and liqueurs. Carry Nation died of a stroke in 1911. If trouble occurred, perhaps the name Sylph could help secure a show of friendship from the President. So, though the public was protected and fed, in part, by the whiskey men of America, they just didnt have enough decent whiskey to drink. 21 By the 1870s, the temperance movement exerted great influence in American life and culture, as this example illustrates. It is the first Scotch to sell for six figures. Those choosing to give up all forms of booze had their names marked in the register with a T for Total--they were the worlds first tee-totalers. Jim Beam joined with Albert J. Hart to run the Old Tub Distillery in 1892. The company was acquired by the Jim Beam Brands Company in the 1980s. At that time, women involved with womens rights often were characterized as plain, but Willard was anything but plain. Pulque, or octli is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the maguey, and is a traditional native beverage of Mesoamerica. Bourbon vs. Tennessee Whiskey Fast Facts. So who was the first whiskey man in Kentucky? By far, bourbon is the most popular style of American whiskey and it's among the best-loved styles of whiskey worldwide. Starting in the mid-1600s, sugar, and molasses were exported from the West Indies to New England where the colonists made their very own variety of rum. The most unfortunate outcome of the events surrounding the Whiskey Trust was that many small distilleries simply disappeared, while others were left under the control of large concerns. They didnt seem to care that these very impurities were responsible for the very flavor of the whiskey. Add to that the fact that, in some circles, drinking is also a sin, and it becomes relatively easy to convince a nation that drink should be taxed. Among its offering is a whiskey, sold in ceramic jars and bottles, that Canale names Old Dominick. The Confederacy, therefore, declared prohibition, on a state to state basis, and tried to buy up all the available whiskey to use as medicine, for Navy rations, and in certain instances, for soldiers who needed a medicinal boost. As part of this deal, Congress passed his National Industrial Recovery Bill that effectively suspended anti-trust laws and compelled industries to write their own fair trade codes, which would be examined by the President before approval. Was Thorpe actually distilling corn whiskey at the time? Whiskey ( during distilling holidays ) that would be used for medicinal.! These prices could be much higher in cities or for name brand.. Wrote to prominent people on both sides of the country, over 350,000 people had in! 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