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For Kentucky's answer to Napa Valley see
The Official Site of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Welcome to Kentucky Distillers' Association
Inroads to Kentucky
Determined to make a new life in the Kentucky wilderness, settlers first arrived in Kentucky around 1767. Traveling from Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas, these early settlers were lured to Kentucky by stories of rich soil and abundant game. With a long history of distilling, settlers carried on their tradition of making whiskey in their new home.
Corn to Bourbon
Kentucky settlers made a living in the ways common on the frontier. Many traded animal skins, worked as blacksmiths or felled trees to earn their way. But most planted crops, including wheat, rye, corn, tobacco and sorghum.
There were often surplus grains, which had to be utilized before they rotted. Frequently, this grain was used to make whiskey, popular for its many uses. Whiskey was prescribed for its medicinal qualities and was used to barter with the native Americans for food, fur and sometimes land.
Around the mid-1800's, the business of grain production became secondary to the production of whiskey. The spirit had become a very valuable commodity on the frontier, worth much more than the value of the grains used to make it.
The Railroad
In the early 1800's, the only method of shipping was to painstakingly load the 600 pound barrels of whiskey onto flatboats. In the spring, after the thaw, the barrels were floated down river to New Orleans for sale. Merchants and frontiersman alike savored the product and by the 1840's began calling it bourbon, after the county in Kentucky where much of the whiskey was produced.
The same decade brought the invention of the steam engine, which marked an explosion in the bourbon market. For the first time, settlers gained access to upstream markets, significantly increasing the demand for the product.
Soon after, the rail was born and streamlined the process, making it much easier to import grain and barrels and to export the whiskey.
The Bottling of Bourbon
Bourbon at the time was often shipped in the barrel with one bottle included for refilling. Frequently, this bourbon was diluted or replaced with inferior brands. Because of this inconsistency, doctors prescribing bourbon could not rely on the quality and therefore could not prescribe it with confidence. To remedy the problem, a Louisville druggist, George Garvin Brown, became the first to sell bourbon in sealed bottles.
Bourbon Today
Today, to ensure proper product labeling, much of the method of making bourbon is mandated by law. Bourbon must be made with a minimum of 51 percent corn and be aged in new white oak barrels charred on the inside. Aging must take place for a minimum of two years (a rarity - most bourbons are aged from four to eight years). If aged less than four years, labeling must include age
The Official Site of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Welcome to Kentucky Distillers' Association
Inroads to Kentucky
Determined to make a new life in the Kentucky wilderness, settlers first arrived in Kentucky around 1767. Traveling from Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas, these early settlers were lured to Kentucky by stories of rich soil and abundant game. With a long history of distilling, settlers carried on their tradition of making whiskey in their new home.
Corn to Bourbon
Kentucky settlers made a living in the ways common on the frontier. Many traded animal skins, worked as blacksmiths or felled trees to earn their way. But most planted crops, including wheat, rye, corn, tobacco and sorghum.
There were often surplus grains, which had to be utilized before they rotted. Frequently, this grain was used to make whiskey, popular for its many uses. Whiskey was prescribed for its medicinal qualities and was used to barter with the native Americans for food, fur and sometimes land.
Around the mid-1800's, the business of grain production became secondary to the production of whiskey. The spirit had become a very valuable commodity on the frontier, worth much more than the value of the grains used to make it.
The Railroad
In the early 1800's, the only method of shipping was to painstakingly load the 600 pound barrels of whiskey onto flatboats. In the spring, after the thaw, the barrels were floated down river to New Orleans for sale. Merchants and frontiersman alike savored the product and by the 1840's began calling it bourbon, after the county in Kentucky where much of the whiskey was produced.
The same decade brought the invention of the steam engine, which marked an explosion in the bourbon market. For the first time, settlers gained access to upstream markets, significantly increasing the demand for the product.
Soon after, the rail was born and streamlined the process, making it much easier to import grain and barrels and to export the whiskey.
The Bottling of Bourbon
Bourbon at the time was often shipped in the barrel with one bottle included for refilling. Frequently, this bourbon was diluted or replaced with inferior brands. Because of this inconsistency, doctors prescribing bourbon could not rely on the quality and therefore could not prescribe it with confidence. To remedy the problem, a Louisville druggist, George Garvin Brown, became the first to sell bourbon in sealed bottles.
Bourbon Today
Today, to ensure proper product labeling, much of the method of making bourbon is mandated by law. Bourbon must be made with a minimum of 51 percent corn and be aged in new white oak barrels charred on the inside. Aging must take place for a minimum of two years (a rarity - most bourbons are aged from four to eight years). If aged less than four years, labeling must include age
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