Making Bourbon: A Geographical History of Distilling in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky

by Karl Raitz

Overview

While other industries chase after the new and improved, bourbon makers celebrate traditions that hearken back to an authentic frontier craft. Distillers enshrine local history in their branding and time-tested recipes, and rightfully so. Kentucky's unique geography shaped the whiskeys its settlers produced, and for more than two centuries, distilling bourbon fundamentally altered every aspect of Kentucky's landscape and culture.

Making Bourbon: A Geographical History of Distilling in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky illuminates how the specific geography, culture, and ecology of the Bluegrass converged and gave birth to Kentucky's favorite barrel-aged whiskey. Expanding on his fall 2019 release Bourbon's Backroads, Karl Raitz delivers a more nuanced discussion of bourbon's evolution by contrasting the fates of two distilleries in Scott and Nelson Counties. In the nineteenth century, distilling changed from an artisanal craft practiced by farmers and millers to a large-scale mechanized industry. The resulting infrastructure—farms, mills, turnpikes, railroads, steamboats, lumberyards, and cooperage shops—left its permanent mark on the land and traditions of the commonwealth. Today, multinational brands emphasize and even construct this local heritage. This unique interdisciplinary study uncovers the complex history poured into every glass of bourbon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813178783
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	649
Sales rank:	1,049,985
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Karl Raitz is professor emeritus of geography at the University of Kentucky and author of Bourbon's Backroads: A Journey through Kentucky's Distilling Landscape. He is coeditor of The Great Valley Road of Virginia: Shenandoah Landscapes from Prehistory to the Present and coauthor of Rock Fences of the Bluegrass.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Kentucky Bourbon in Time and Space
1. Heritage and Process
2. Kentucky Distilling: Craft to Commercial Enterprise
3. Kentucky's Distilling Environment
4. Distilling Grain, Feeding Livestock
5. Distillery Configurations
6. Technology's Tools
7. Complementary Industries
8. Signatures of Risk
9. Byproducts
10. Connections
11. Making it Work
12. External Control and Landscape
13. Temperance Troubles
14. Making Whiskey at the Henry McKenna Distillery: 1855-1868
15. McKenna's Family Distillers: Marketing, Medicine, and Temperance: 1869-1919
16. Building James Stone's Elkhorn Distillery: 1868-1869
17. Marketing Whiskey, Managing Money, and Elkhorn Distillery's Demise: 1869-1871
18. Naming
19. A Reconstructed Past Lives in the Present
20. Making Bourbon, Making Landscape: An Epilogue

What People are Saying About This

William Wyckoff

"Bringing his keen geographer's eye to a truly American topic, Karl Raitz examines the rich story of distilling in its Kentucky heartland and traces its maturation from a local craft to an enduring industry. This veteran scholar of the American scene brings to life the distilling landscape and links it to both the fascinating people and the ecological settings that made such an industry possible. Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, savor every sip of this delicious book!"

Joseph S. Wood

"Making Bourbon, a comprehensive analysis of Kentucky distilling's deep roots in ecology, heritage, technology, and place, exemplifies geographical thinking at its finest. Author Karl Raitz excavates the mythical whiskey landscape to fathom the work of nineteenth-century farmer-miller-distillers who assembled folk knowledge, raw materials, and technical innovation to produce, market, and ship whiskey—processes that would shape a unique regional landscape for centuries to come."

David E. Hamilton

"Karl Raitz's Making Bourbon is a gem. The depth of Raitz's research and the breadth of his analysis have produced a masterful telling of the shift from craft to industrial distilling. And in telling us the story of bourbon, Raitz also makes a terrific contribution to our understanding of America's nineteenth-century economy."

Stephen Birdsall

"This is a wonderful trek across the geographical history of Kentucky bourbon landscape evolution. The familiar present has deep roots in the past. Raitz details with care and admirable clarity how the past remains present in the products and places of Kentucky's history and landscapes. He carefully traces the most important tangible characteristics while also highlighting the distillers' traditions, values, and practices. This will be a valuable sourcebook for all who are fascinated by this iconic American beverage."

From the Publisher

"Bringing his keen geographer's eye to a truly American topic, Karl Raitz examines the rich story of distilling in its Kentucky heartland and traces its maturation from a local craft to an enduring industry. This veteran scholar of the American scene brings to life the distilling landscape and links it to both the fascinating people and the ecological settings that made such an industry possible. Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, savor every sip of this delicious book!" — William Wyckoff, author of How to Read the American West: A Field Guide

Editorial Reviews

Making Bourbon, a comprehensive analysis of Kentucky distilling's ecology, heritage, technology, and connection to place, exemplifies geographical thinking at its finest. Author Karl Raitz excavates the mythical whiskey landscape to fathom the work of nineteenth-century farmer-miller-distillers who assembled folk knowledge, raw materials, and technical innovation to produce, market, and ship whiskey—processes that would shape a unique regional landscape for centuries to come.

Joseph S. Wood

Bringing his keen geographer's eye to a truly American topic, Karl Raitz examines the rich story of distilling in its Kentucky heartland and traces its maturation from a local craft to an enduring industry. This veteran scholar of the American scene brings to life the distilling landscape and links it to both the fascinating people and the ecological settings that made such an industry possible. Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, savor every sip of this delicious book!

William Wyckoff

A well-researched and comprehensive analysis, taking a very deep dive into the Kentucky ecosphere that made bourbon possible.

Drink Hacker

Karl Raitz's Making Bourbon is a gem. The depth of Raitz's research and the breadth of his analysis have produced a masterful telling of the shift from craft to industrial distilling. And in telling us the story of bourbon, Raitz also makes a terrific contribution to our understanding of America's nineteenth-century economy.

David E. Hamilton

Making Bourbon is at once a delightful read and an informative reference book on Kentucky whiskey makers. Raitz's affection for Kentucky and his authority as a renowned geographer permeates every page. He provides a compelling case for further scholarship of this kind or an excuse to settle down into a cozy seat with his book and a glass of bourbon.

Ohio Valley History

In this meticulously researched, richly illustrated, and skillfully written volume, one of the sages of American cultural and historical geography has produced what will surely be considered the authoritative account of how the actors involved in the business of bourbon production produced an evocative distilling cultural landscape ensemble in Kentucky over the course of two centuries. It is a book whose utility and approach will be appreciated for years to come.

Material Culture: Journal of the International Society for Landscape

Informed and informative, comprehensive and detailed, and an absolute 'must read' choice for the legions of dedicated Kentucky bourbon enthusiasts, Making Bourbon: A Geographical History of Distilling in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky is a significant and comprehensive history that is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library collections.

Midwest Book Review

This is a wonderful trek across the geographical history of Kentucky bourbon landscape evolution. The familiar present has deep roots in the past. Raitz details with care and admirable clarity how the past remains present in the products and places of Kentucky's history and landscapes. He carefully traces the most important tangible characteristics while also highlighting the distillers' traditions, values, and practices. This will be a valuable sourcebook for all who are fascinated by this iconic American beverage.

Stephen Birdsall

" Making Bourbon is at once a delightful read and an informative reference book on Kentucky whiskey makers. Raitz's affection for Kentucky and his authority as a renowned geographer permeates every page. He provides a compelling case for further scholarship of this kind or an excuse to settle down into a cozy seat with his book and a glass of bourbon." — Ohio Valley History

From the Publisher