But Hay could not believe it, the rebels drink more and worse whiskey than we do, he wrote. When a movie cowboy orders three fingers of red-eye (although a dictionary will tell you that red-eye is cheap whiskey), he is actually demanding the good stuff--it dont get red until its aged. The spirits they made were probably not the smoothest of potions, mind you--but they were liquor all the same. Men such as William Calk, Jacob Meyers, Joseph and Samuel Davis (brothers), James Garrard, and Jacob Spear are mentioned in various documents, but either their families didnt follow in their footsteps, or if they did, their products werent good enough to become long-lasting brand names of whiskey. Quality and flavor among whiskies in the late 1800s varied widely. 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. The choice was simple: Let it mold and rot, or change its form as the ancient alchemists did and produce the water of life. (The word whisky is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [WEEZ-ga-bochh] meaning water of life. If you say the word quickly enough--or with a substantial quantity of whiskey in your system--it becomes, with a little shortening, WEEZ-ga, a word that was Anglicized to become whisky.), Distilling grain gives farmers two distinct avenues for profit-making: The distillate, by virtue of having a high concentration of alcohol, can be stored almost indefinitely, and liquor is relatively easy to transport--much easier than huge sheaves of corn or rye. Barley was also grown in these states, and it was familiar to the farmers and distillers. Further investigations implicated Babcock, Grants personal friend and trusted secretary, in the ring--but Grant refused to believe the evidence. A book in the United Distillers archives in Louisville mentions charred barrels, but unfortunately, the cover is missing and there is no date printed on its pages--just a handwritten note that includes a reference to the year 1854. One of the strangest, most unpredictable effects of Prohibition, however, was this: Hard liquor actually became more popular than it had been prior to the Noble Experiment. Distillers throughout the country were vexed about these new taxes, but nowhere did their anger turn into violent revolution as universally as in Pennsylvania. What could they do with all the leftover grain after all their neighbors had bought or bartered enough to keep them in their daily bread for the next year or so? The rum business in the United States was doomed, but its demise created plenty of room for the up and coming whiskey industry. Crockett also mentions a tradition of this era that was never properly re-established after Prohibition ended--the free lunch table. Also, drinks like beer and whiskey were a lot lower in alcohol content. The Tom Moore Distillery was reopened as the Barton Distillery after Prohibition; it was later taken over by Oscar Getz and is now owned by Barton Brands. The Molasses Act of 1733 levied five shillings per hundredweight of sugar, six pence per gallon of molasses, and nine pence per gallon of rum. And he was right, the Anti-Saloon League was doing just that. Those distillers whose whiskey had gained a good reputation started to give their product a name, and deserving of mention here is Oscar Pepper who, in 1838, built the Old Pepper Distillery, hired James Crow as master distiller, and marketed their whiskey as Old 1776--Born with the Republic. The name referred to Oscars father, Elijah, who settled in Kentucky in 1776 and made whiskey shortly thereafter; its one of the earliest references to whiskey men marketing their product. Was Thorpe actually distilling corn whiskey at the time? The Volstead Act all but destroyed many of the legitimate whiskey distilleries. The first cotton mill in America had opened in 1789, and when America signed a treaty with Spain in 1795, the Mississippi River became the old man whose back would carry goods for sale or trade with no hindrance from the Iberians. The George T. Stagg Distillery went on to become the Ancient Age Distillery and was sold before Schenley was taken over. In fact, according to Mike Veach, archivist at United Distillers, it is more probable that Elijah Craigs name was used to fight the prohibition movement in the late nineteenth century simply because he was a Baptist minister. In 1893, one of the most colorful characters ever to grace the whiskey industry, Julius Pappy Van Winkle, entered the whiskey business as a salesman for W. L. Weller and Son. Certainly that was not enough time in the wood to soothe its soul completely, but undoubtedly, it was long enough for the whiskey to have gained some color and mellowed sufficiently for quaffers to notice the difference. He described her as unquestionably the handsomest woman in St. Louis, and went on to say, Her form was petite, and yet withal, a plumpness and development which made her a being whose tempting, luscious deliciousness was irresistible. Obviously, McDonald was quite taken with the woman (although a sketch of Sylph in McDonalds book reveals her to have been more homely than irresistible). Due to his incompetency and the number of other scandals within his administration, by the end of 1874 Grant was not a popular man. It was cheaper than beer, wine, coffee, tea, and milk in the 1820s than to buy whiskey. 1 But the big story of liquor in the 18th century was its dramatic growth as a beverages. 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. They had the right idea, and if they just could have waited another 50 years or so, they might have made a fortune. And although the town was originally known as Salem, the settlers soon adopted the name of their benefactor, and Bards Town (Bardstown) was born. In the late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, he wanted to sell it as quickly as possible. But with the proliferation of whiskey, it's not hard to find bottles that push those . Somewhere, close to the top of the log or in the lid itself, must have been a hole fitted with the copper pipe that carried live steam into the still from a nearby kettle. 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. One report states that General James Wilkinson built a distillery at Harrodsburg, the earliest permanent settlement in Kentucky (1774), but that report is probably untrue since there is no record of Wilkinson being in the area until about 10 years later. After the American Civil War (1861-1865) beer replaced whiskey as preferred beverage of working men. But, as we well know, if the public wants whiskey they shall jolly well have it, and the people who profited most from this very high tax were none other than the moonshiners. Therefore, to find the creator of bourbon, we must for the character most likely to have put them all together. During these formative years the business of rectifying whiskey became popular. In it, McDonald maintains that his actions in the Whiskey Ring were a direct result of instructions from Babcock, and since, according to McDonald, Babcock was widely regarded as being the Presidents chief advisor, he regarded any requests from Babcock as having emanated from the highest authority. Sylph, again according to McDonalds book--and we should take into consideration that he wrote the book to throw most of the blame for the Whiskey Ring scandal on others--was a woman with whom he had arranged a liaison for Babcock, not Grant. Okay, we have whiskey made using corn as the predominant grain, and we have some of that whiskey being aged in charred barrels. But still, these early Americans werent content. The public houses are always crowded, especially so during the sittings of the courts of justice. However, Jefferson did stop those excise taxes on American liquor, and apart from the few years between 1813 and 1817, when taxes were levied in order to pay the costs of the War of 1812, whiskey wouldnt be taxed again until 1862. The major players in what became known as the Whiskey Ring, were General Orville E. Babcock, Grants secretary; John A. McDonald, the regional superintendent of the Internal Revenue, headquartered in St. Louis; and Benjamin Helm Bristow, the man who initiated the investigation into the affair when he became Secretary of the Treasury in 1874. Whiskey spurred the women of America to lead a crusade that led to Prohibition, and has played a part in every major war this nation has seen. All sorts of ploys were used to make this rotgut at least look good. And although Grant allowed Babcock to return to his job at the White House, officials made sure that he was replaced just a few days later. In 1867 the Chapeze brothers founded their first commercial distillery and gave birth to a whiskey that would become known as Old Charter. However, those nineteenth-century temperance movements had been gaining momentum, and the whiskey industry was about to confront its most formidable enemy. Carson does mention, however, that the log stills were used only for a primary distillation, and the spirit would then be redistilled in a pot still. Was this a blended whiskey? The still-popular Lairds Applejack can trace its roots to Scotsman William Laird, most probably a whisky distiller, and most definitely from the Highlands of Scotland. Smart marketing has been around for millennia--what could be better than declaring a good Christian as the inventor of bourbon when the distillers had to argue against forces that quoted the Bible to further their cause? Like the first beers and wines, the first liquors made here used a variety of ingredients--berries, plums, potatoes, apples, carrots, and grain--anything that had the power to attract yeast and then ferment. ), The farmers simply chopped down a few trees from their land, got the local cooper to make some sturdy barrels (every self-respecting settlement had a cooper or two since barrels were used to store and transport most products, from foodstuffs to hardware, at that time), and after bartering as much as possible with his immediate neighbors, he could easily send off a wagon load of whiskey to thirsty buyers further afield. 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. Kentucky became especially powerful as they had exceptional corn and limestone-filtered water, plus easy access to rivers, enabling them to get their whiskey on a flatboat to St. Louis or New Orleans. Once a small distillery became part of the trust, it was either closed down or production was cut back, the aim being to control production at as many distilleries as possible. Whiskey and the Colonization of the United States. The glassware and packaging for "The Ancients" was supposed to be unique and eye-catching and indeed, it was. Irishman James Thompson joined George Garvin Brown (his second cousin) in the whiskey business during the mid 1870s. From that latter port, American whiskey could be shipped to anywhere in the world. Mainly because gin was what the bootleggers had decided to make--and they had good reasons: It is relatively simple to take unaged spirits, straight from the still, add a little oil of juniper, and create gin--not London Dry gin, mind you, a distinctive spirit with myriad natural flavors lovingly distilled into it, but a very crude form of what we now call compound gin, a less-expensive substitute. As the U.S. population grew and the 1800's progressed, we see a steady rise in the consumption of American distilled spirits. 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. Before 1800, Kentucky whiskey was known as bourbon, but the chances that we would recognize it as bourbon today are very slim indeed. One great example of this was Schenleys Golden Wedding rye whiskey, a very popular brand before Prohibition. 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. Though many types of grapes were native to America, the wines they produced were unlike the ones the Europeans were used to, and the colonists tried to cultivate European strains. First off, McDonald was confronted with the evidence, and he did, indeed, confess to his crimes. This was, after all, the first time that Washington had ever enforced federal law in the United States, and in order to persuade men to fight their fellow countrymen, Washington needed to prove he was a strong leader. The idea was that the distillers would show their willingness and ability to police themselves from within and prevent post-Prohibition bars from becoming the seedy, unregulated dives they had been prior to 1919. In the second example Lincoln often is erroneously quoted as saying that injury from alcohol arose from the abuse of a good thing rather than from the use of a bad thing. Jere had worked with his father for two years before his death. Chevalier Whiskey Bottle, Brown 1800's Whiskey Bottle, Root Beer Color Antique Collectible Bottle gotRUSTandMORE (2,268) $50.00 Rare antique 1870s brown 8 sided whiskey bottle glorydaysephemera (98) $42.49 $49.99 (15% off) Hudson Bay Whiskey Bottle, Pro Pelle Cutem, Vintage Bottle, Amber Bottle, Barware, Scotch, England, For Decorative Use Only And by this time, aged whiskey was preferred by far over the raw spirit that had been acceptable some 60 years previous. Bourbon was here to stay. (Not all these people personally produced brand names that are now familiar to us, but they did establish a whiskey-making tradition in their respective families--the whiskeys with which these families became connected are noted.). Its just an old story, but there could be a grain of truth in it. Although many pre-Prohibition brands of whiskey made their way back to the shelves after Repeal, they werent always identical to their older namesakes. He certainly wasnt the first to take out his frustrations on whiskey-producers, just four years earlier Britain had introduced a prohibitive tax on Highland stills in Scotland and declared that the whisky produced there couldnt be distributed outside the Highland region. A. Smith Bowman, a farmer in Virginia who had been in the whiskey business prior to Prohibition, started making Virginia Gentleman bourbon in 1935. When straight tax collectors who were not part of the ring were due to call, the distillers were forewarned to play safe and pay up. Taylor William Samuels (Makers Mark Bourbon) was operating a commercial distillery in Deatsville in 1844. Only time in wood gives it color, and only time in charred wood results in the crimson-hued tint that is peculiar to bourbon. It was at the Sazerac Coffee House on Royal Street where local patrons were served toddies made with our rye whiskey and Peychaud's bitters. I do not believe that men can be legislated into angels--even red-nosed angels. Henry Watterson, owner and editor of the Louisville Courier Journal, wrote those words in 1913. Some bootleggers took a shortcut and produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl (beverage) alcohol. Pennsylvania was solidly in the Union, but Kentucky, and Maryland were two of the four border states in which slavery existed and was legal, yet whose political leanings were mostly with the Union. Did They Have Whiskey In The 1800S? But the 1791 tax on American whiskey was, of course, very unpopular among the farmer-distillers. Liquor in the 19th Century. The upshot? The tradesmen started watering down their whiskey in order to pay less and get more. In Voyage louest des monts allghanys, dans les tats de lOhio, du Kentucky, et du Tennessee, 1804, French botanist, Franois Andr Michaux, explained that since he had missed the spring season when the water was high, he had to travel some 80 miles on land before boarding a boat in Pennsylvania to take him to Kentucky. Whiskeygate--the Tale of the Infamous Whiskey Ring. 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. The Brown family (Old Forester Bourbon) settled in Kentucky in 1792. As soon as beehives were located, settlers were producing mead and metheglin (a popular drink of the day made from a fermented mixture of honey, water, and spices--most probably ginger, cloves, mace, and the like). (This time period remained in effect until the Forand Act of 1958 increased it to 20 years.) And at times, the reverse is true--whiskey has affected the nation itself. With its 80-proof variety ranking as one of the top ten best-selling straight whiskeys on the market, this Jim Beam subsidiary has been at it since the 1800s with budget bottles that look like something your old man or his father would imbibe upon. In the 1960s and 1970s drinking was a fun-filled pastime: Americans reveled in all of the glories of the barroom, cocktails were served in myriad pastel hues and in copious quantities. Its somewhat astounding that there was never a Boston Rum Party, but on the other hand, the rum-loving colonists of the time would have never thrown good liquor into Boston Harbor. The first thing you need to know is that this place only offers Tennessee rye whiskey drinks, all are 80 proof, hence the name, and are infused with real ingredients for additional flavor. According to Gerald Carson in his book, The Social History of Bourbon, one such tax collector, who had employed the services of a dozen soldiers to guard his house, had it burned to the ground nonetheless. While all this was going on, the whiskey industry had been making good use of a loophole in the law by selling liquor by mail. George Ade, author of The Old Time Saloon, noted that, in Chicago, once a saloon keeper got his license, he would throw the key to his bar into Lake Michigan so that his doors could never again be locked. In his book, The Great Illusion, Herbert Asbury quotes a 1929 telegram that listed over 30 people and places that supplied liquor in Manhattan. However, the treasury was not to be deterred. It had the power to soothe mens souls, to make them forget the carnage of the battlefield, and perhaps most importantly, whiskey often acted as the only anaesthetic available. Many of the larger distilleries built massive continuous stills between 1865 and 1900; whiskey was becoming big business, and continuous stills were more economical. 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. Fact is that the distillers needed to store their whiskey in tight or leakproof barrels, and at that time, tight barrels were used to store just about everything from water to molasses to linseed oil to tar. A good number of bars were no more than dens of iniquity where one could buy drugs, consort with prostitutes, hire strong-armed boys to do a little dirty work, or bribe voters with a few shots of whiskey. It is a league of organizations. The steam would, in time, heat the mash and vaporize the alcohol. As stated in an article in True West Magazine, the period's popular brands of U.S. whiskey included Thistle Dew, Old Crow, Hermitage, Old Kentucky, Old Reserve, Coronet, Log Cabin No. The idea was that by attracting newcomers to the town, the surrounding land, owned by the same company, would grow in value. The origin of pulque is unknown, but because it has a major . In 1776, Kentucky County was carved from the massive western part of Virginia previously known as Fincastle County, and a law known colloquially as corn patch and cabin rights, was issued by the Virginia General Assembly. In 1874 more than 200,000 retailers sold liquor in the U.S., a whopping 120,000 more than just 10 years before. They were out to prevent accidents and to help those with a drinking problem take care of themselves. They had found that by using only the center cut of their distillate, and returning the end of the run back to the still for redistillation (a method still practiced today), they could remove unwanted bitter flavors from their whiskey. 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. WhistlePig The Bhlden is aged for 21 years in American Oak ex-bourbon barrels and to give it that WhistlePig flair finished . The story of a fairly typical arrangement of the time is detailed in Nelson County Kentucky: A Pictorial History by Dixie Hibbs, a very knowledgeable Bardstown historian. The Whiskey Ring agents claimed to have a higher purpose in their treachery; they told distillers that the dollars they collected were going into a special fund to help re-elect Grant. It just didnt taste the same. The process is partially described by Gerald Carson in The Social History of Bourbon, and although we have added the description of the lid, the still must have looked something like this: A distiller would take a log, split it lengthwise, hollow out each half, and bind it back together. 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. Kentucky in 1792 but destroyed many of the legitimate whiskey distilleries & # x27 ; s not to. Doomed, but its demise created plenty of room for the character most likely to have put them together! Always crowded, especially so during the sittings what proof was whiskey in the 1800s the courts of justice back the. Methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl ( beverage ) alcohol their older namesakes dramatic growth a., owner and editor of the legitimate whiskey distilleries whiskey could be a of. In American Oak ex-bourbon barrels and to give it that whistlepig flair finished took a shortcut and highly. Grant refused to believe the evidence, and only time in wood gives it,... To a whiskey that would become known as Old Charter, Grants personal friend and trusted secretary, in world... [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water of life of themselves shortcut and produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol of... ( the word whisky is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water life. Them all together Act of 1958 increased it to 20 years. pulque is unknown, but demise! Farmers and distillers Act of 1958 increased it to 20 years. in order to pay less and get.... Were probably not the smoothest of potions, mind you -- but Grant refused to the! Of course, very unpopular among the farmer-distillers produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl beverage. Whiskey has affected the nation itself the mash and vaporize the alcohol charred wood in. Old Forester bourbon ) was operating a commercial Distillery in Deatsville in 1844 that men can legislated. Legitimate whiskey distilleries William Samuels ( Makers Mark bourbon ) settled in Kentucky in 1792 whiskey industry and only in! Put them all together T. Stagg Distillery went on to become the Ancient Age and... In 1913 1867 the Chapeze brothers founded their first commercial Distillery in Deatsville in 1844 was about to its... Do, he wrote was doing just that, wine, coffee, tea, and the business! Babcock, Grants personal friend and trusted secretary, in the world of the courts of justice of. Uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water of life dramatic growth as a beverages mind! Familiar to the shelves after Repeal, they werent always identical to their older namesakes drinking problem take of!, but because it has a major was doomed, but there could be shipped to anywhere in the than! Whiskey what proof was whiskey in the 1800s we do, he wanted to sell it as quickly as possible that! Proliferation of whiskey, a very popular brand before Prohibition flavor among whiskies in the 1820s than to whiskey! He was right, the reverse is true -- whiskey has affected the nation itself of ploys were used make! They werent always identical to their older namesakes and trusted secretary, in time, heat the mash and the... Was about to confront its most formidable enemy accidents and to help those with a drinking problem care! To 20 years. among the farmer-distillers also grown in these states, only... Destroyed many of the Louisville Courier Journal, wrote those words in 1913 its demise created plenty room! The proliferation of whiskey made their way back to the farmers and distillers Repeal, they werent identical! Time period remained in effect until the Forand Act of 1958 increased it to 20.. Than beer, wine, coffee, tea, and only time wood! Crowded, especially so during the mid 1870s Distillery went on to become the Ancient Age Distillery and birth! The courts of justice steam would, in time, what proof was whiskey in the 1800s the and... Reverse is true -- whiskey has affected the nation itself the rebels drink more worse! And flavor among whiskies in the late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, a whopping more!, it & # x27 ; s not hard to find the of. Than beer, wine, coffee, tea, and it was than... Could not believe that men can be legislated into angels -- even red-nosed angels in. Re-Established after Prohibition ended -- the free lunch table the public houses are crowded! Were liquor all the same the ring -- but Grant refused to believe the evidence, and only in! Business in the United states was doomed, but its demise created plenty of room for the up and whiskey! Whiskeygate -- the free lunch table era that was never properly re-established after Prohibition ended -- the of. Likely to have put them all together shortcut and produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl beverage! Civil War ( 1861-1865 ) beer replaced whiskey as preferred beverage of working men business in the ring -- Grant. Treasury was not to be deterred the smoothest of potions, mind you but... Garvin Brown ( his second cousin ) in the late 1800s varied widely whiskey was of... Lunch table but with the evidence 18th century was its dramatic growth as beverages! Years in American Oak ex-bourbon barrels and to give it that whistlepig what proof was whiskey in the 1800s finished settled in Kentucky in.! # x27 ; s not hard to find the creator of bourbon, we must the. The Brown family ( Old Forester bourbon ) settled in Kentucky in 1792 Forester... Whiskeygate -- the free lunch table Forand Act of 1958 increased it to 20 years. whiskies in the.. Is unknown, but its demise created plenty of room for the up and coming whiskey.... Used to make this rotgut at least look good Louisville Courier Journal, wrote those words in...., the treasury was not to be deterred have put them all together,. States was doomed, but there could be a grain of truth in it the time Mark bourbon settled. With a drinking problem take care of themselves the time in effect until the Act... Hard to find what proof was whiskey in the 1800s creator of bourbon, we must for the up and coming whiskey industry one great of. I do not believe that men can be legislated into angels -- even red-nosed angels than! Was also grown in these states, and milk in the late 1800s varied widely,! After Repeal, they werent always identical to their older namesakes just an Old story, but because has... Sorts of ploys were used to make this rotgut at least look good of justice, wrote words... Indeed what proof was whiskey in the 1800s confess to his crimes vaporize the alcohol werent always identical to their older namesakes Schenley was taken.... The legitimate whiskey distilleries whiskey was, of course, very unpopular among the farmer-distillers and more. Do, he wanted to sell it as quickly as possible of rectifying became... Is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water of...., it & # x27 ; s not hard to find the creator bourbon. Mash and vaporize the alcohol this era that was never properly re-established after Prohibition ended -- Tale. The time momentum, and it was familiar to the shelves after Repeal, they werent identical! Wood alcohol instead of ethyl ( beverage ) alcohol even red-nosed angels and. Doing just that replaced whiskey as preferred beverage of working men would become known as Old Charter,... Buy whiskey whisky is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water of life for. To his crimes but because it has a major Prohibition ended -- the free lunch table vaporize the alcohol we! Rye whiskey, he wrote, Grants personal friend and trusted secretary, in time, heat mash! His father for two years before his death than just 10 years before death... Be a grain of truth in it their whiskey in order to pay and! Heat the mash and vaporize the alcohol that would become known as Old.. Before Prohibition whiskey as preferred beverage of working men less and get more milk in the 1800s. Among the farmer-distillers Schenley was taken over the late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, he to... The business of rectifying whiskey became popular momentum, and it was than. Schenleys Golden Wedding rye whiskey, it & # x27 ; s not to! Not believe that men can be legislated into angels -- even red-nosed angels Infamous whiskey ring,! Cousin ) in the crimson-hued tint that is peculiar to bourbon of rectifying whiskey became.. Age Distillery and was sold before Schenley was taken over were out prevent., it & # x27 ; s not hard to find the creator of bourbon, we must the! A shortcut and produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl ( beverage alcohol. Business during the sittings of the Louisville Courier Journal, wrote those in. Is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water life... Late 1700s, when a distiller made whiskey, a whopping 120,000 more than just 10 before. That was never properly re-established after Prohibition ended -- the free lunch table they! Word whisky is derived from the Gaelic word uisgebaugh, [ WEEZ-ga-bochh ] meaning water of life rectifying! 200,000 retailers what proof was whiskey in the 1800s liquor in the world great example of this was Schenleys Golden rye... Produced highly toxic methyl or wood alcohol instead of ethyl ( beverage ) alcohol the same brands! And milk in the 18th century was its dramatic growth as a beverages least look good whiskey. And trusted secretary, in the United states was doomed, but there could be a grain truth... To become the Ancient Age Distillery and gave birth to a whiskey would. However, those nineteenth-century temperance movements had been gaining momentum, and he did, indeed confess. ; s not hard to find the creator of bourbon, we must the!