Charles K. Cowdery - Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey

BOURBON,
STRAIGHT

BOURBON ,
STRAIGHT

The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of
American Whiskey

Charles K. Cowdery

Chicago , Illinois

For information about this book, write or call:

Made and Bottled in Kentucky

PMB 298, 3712 N. Broadway

Chicago , IL 60613-4198

773-477-9691

cowdery@ix.netcom.com

http://cowdery.home.netcom.com

BOURBON, STRAIGHT: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey. Copyright 2004, Charles K. Cowdery. Manufactured in the United States of America . All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

First printing 2004.

ISBN 0-9758703-0-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004108280

Contents

Of Sex and Shellfish......................................................... i

And Lets Not Forget ................................................. ix

The Roots of Bourbon Whiskey in America ................ 1

What Is Whiskey? (The Basics).................................... 7

How Bourbon Whiskey Got Its Name........................ 23

The New Oak Barrel; Whiskeys Best Friend............ 32

The Last Step: Selling Bourbon in Bottles................. 45

Haydens, Wathens and Old Grand-Dad.................... 51

The Elusive Bourbon Renaissance............................. 61

An American Whiskey Sampling Guide.................... 69

How Whiskey Won the West (and the Movies)....... 80

Whiskey, War and Taxes............................................. 88

Even the River Was Burning....................................... 93

The Ubiquitous Beams............................................... 100

Two Sides of the Whiskey Question........................ 115

Fall from Grace; the History of Old Crow................ 118

The Elephant in the Room......................................... 127

Something About Some Roses................................. 137

How to Taste American Straight Whiskey.............. 145

Old Bernheim and Some Other Bourbon Names Youll Never See. 161

A Good Story.............................................................. 173

Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr., Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry. 183

Vendome..................................................................... 198

Presidents Day............................................................ 204

Why Ratings Are Bull................................................. 197

Product Reviews

Two Antiques and One Modern Bourbon from United Distillers. 201

Knob Creek................................................................. 207

Henry McKenna Single Barrel................................... 208

Bulleit Bourbon........................................................... 210

Old Grand-Dad 114 Barrel Proof............................... 212

Evan Williams Black Label........................................ 214

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage........................ 215

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye .............................. 219

Fighting Cock............................................................. 220

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit..................................... 222

Wild Turkey Russells Reserve.................................. 223

Old Forester................................................................ 224

W. L. Weller Special Reserve.................................... 226

Old Weller Antique.................................................... 227

Woodford Reserve Distillers Select........................ 229

Jim Beam White Label............................................... 230

Jack Daniels Black Label.......................................... 231

Early Times.................................................................. 233

Old Fitzgerald Gold Label......................................... 234

Buffalo Trace............................................................... 234

Elijah Craig Single Barrel........................................... 236

Bakers......................................................................... 237

Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel......................................... 238

Ezra B. Single Barrel................................................... 239

Old Whiskey River ..................................................... 241

Old Charter Classic 90............................................. 242

Corner Creek Reserve.............................................. 243

Very Very Old Fitzgerald.......................................... 245

Very Old Barton.......................................................... 247

Four Roses................................................................... 249

George T. Stagg......................................................... 250

George Dickel No . 12............................................... 252

Eagle Rare Single Barrel............................................ 253

Yellowstone ................................................................ 254

Makers Mark.............................................................. 255

Bibliography................................................................ 257

Index............................................................................ 259

Introduction.

Of Sex and Shellfish.

Like sex, alcohol is one of those subjects where much of what people think they know is wrong. The similarities do not end there. Both subjects are laden with taboos, not least of which is their unsuitability for children. Perhaps that is the reason for such widespread ignorance about both. We dont learn much about them as children and as adults, we dont learn anything very well.

What we do learn about both subjects growing up often is contradictory. Our parents and teachers tell us one thing, our peers tell us something else. Sex education, fortunately, has improved a lot in recent decades. Alcohol education not so much.

One example of this ignorance, of relevance to whiskey fans, is the prejudice against hard liquor embodied in that very expression. Conventional wisdom holds that distilled spirits are a uniquely dangerous form of alcohol, more prone to abuse than beer or wine. People drinking bourbon whiskey for the first time often characterize it as strong. Likewise, many people believe tequila has unique intoxicating qualities more akin to narcotics than alcohol. Absinthe, which is still banned in the United States , has a similar legendary reputation. Certain tropical concoctions using several different rums are considered unusually potent. I say prejudice against but, of course, people seeking intoxication take the opposite view, based on the same erroneous beliefs.

The fact is that alcohol is alcohol and so far as alcohols intoxicating effect goes, the beverage type is irrelevant. All of the alcohol in alcoholic beverages is ethanol and it is all exactly the same, chemically and functionally, whether it is in wine, beer or tequila. The only thing that matters is the amount of alcohol you consume. As someone who attended college at one of the last bastions of low beer (no more than 3.2 percent alcohol by volume), I can certify that it is possible to become severely intoxicated on anything that contains alcohol, even in low concentrations, if you drink enough of it. The level of intoxication a given individual will reach is solely a function of the amount of alcohol consumed, how quickly it is consumed, the body weight of the drinker and the drinkers individual metabolism. The type of beverage (beer, wine, whiskey, vodka, tequila, rum, etc.) has nothing to do with it. The alcohol in white wine is exactly the same as the alcohol in tequila. Alcohol is alcohol, period. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the industry trade group, likes to point out that a typical glass of wine, a typical glass of beer and a typical cocktail all contain about the same amount of alcohol.