Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Michael R. Veach (Author), Travis (Narrator), University Press Audiobooks (Publisher)

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On May 4, 1964, Congress designated bourbon as a distinctive product of the United States, and it remains the only spirit produced in this country to enjoy such protection. Its history stretches back almost to the founding of the nation and includes many colorful characters, both well known and obscure, from the hatchet-wielding prohibitionist Carry Nation to George Garvin Brown, who in 1872 created Old Forester, the first bourbon to be sold only by the bottle.

Although obscured by myth, the history of bourbon reflects the history of our nation. Historian Michael R. Veach reveals the true story of bourbon in Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. Starting with the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s, he traces the history of this unique beverage through the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and up to the present. Veach explores aspects of bourbon that have been ignored by others, including the technology behind its production, the effects of the Pure Food and Drug Act, and how Prohibition contributed to the Great Depression.

The myths surrounding bourbon are legion, but Veach separates fact from legend. While the true origin of the spirit may never be known for certain, he proposes a compelling new theory. With the explosion of super-premium bourbons and craft distilleries and the establishment of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, interest in bourbon has never been higher. Veach shines a light on its pivotal place in our national heritage, presenting the most complete and wide-ranging history of bourbon available.

The book is published by University Press of Kentucky.

Listening Length

2 hours and 34 minutes
Author

Michael R. Veach
Narrator

Travis
Audible release date

June 25 2013
Language

English
Publisher

University Press Audiobooks
ASIN

B0713ZSRQQ
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	2 hours and 34 minutes
Author	Michael R. Veach
Narrator	Travis
Audible.ca Release Date	June 25 2013
Publisher	University Press Audiobooks
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0713ZSRQQ
Best Sellers Rank	#146,184 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #508 in Food & Wine (Audible Books & Originals) #1,184 in History of Food #1,725 in Liquor (Books)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

252 global ratings

5 star		72%
4 star		20%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top review from Canada

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Barry James Mccarthy

A must for Bourbon lovers

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 27, 2013

Verified Purchase

The rich history of this spirit is told in exquisite and fascinating detail in this great book. A history lesson, illustrated throughout, that's hard to put down. If you are interested in the process, the distillers, the famous names in the Bourbon industry and how it all came to be, then I cannot recommend this book enough.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Stephen

Good book

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on July 25, 2021

Verified Purchase

Really good

greg gray

Too much money for extended Wiki page.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

ladies and gents I bought this on kindle, I was charged 20 pounds for the privilege of reading an extended wikipedia page, at 6 or 7 pound its a good book with a good incite into bourbon and some cool photos but honestly save your money watch the youtube history, check out wikipedia and use the twenty pound toward a good bottle of whiskey or whisky if you prefer. I feel incredibly cheated.

D_shrink

Must Read for Bourbon Afficianados!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book imparts a substantial bit of knowledge about bourbon and whiskey in general while being a light and fun read with the statistics woven into the narrative. The author beings the history by explaining that whiskey became popular in America as the populace moved from the East Coast inland and found that rum and gin, the alcoholic beverages of choice at the time, were too expensive to transport, leading to small batch distilling on a far more local basis.

The author also gives a nice discussion of how sweet and sour mash differ and why they yield slightly different end products. One of the bits of trivia included that I found interesting was what the difference in spelling of WHISKY and WHISKEY implied. The lore is that WHISKY spelling supposedly implied distillers who originally had ties to England as Canada and Scotland, while those allied with the colonists as the Irish spelled it WHISKEY. It turned out to be marketing lore, but it still makes for a good story.

The manufacturing principles of distilling with many early recipes are given.

What I found to be a most interesting section was on some of the early innovators in the business of making bourbon and even how bourbon supposedly got it name. For instance we learn that a Louisville physician named Jim Crow made several improvements to the distilling process and was credited with using a thermometer to record the temperature which allows greater accuracy in distillation and allows various cogeners to be included thereby affecting the desired end flavor; he also was credited with using a hydrometer to more accurately assess the true ABV level; and he used litmus paper at various steps in the process to prevent bacterial buildup from spoiling a batch. We also learn that central Kentucky is famous for its bourbon due to the limestone filtered water which is low in iron content thereby giving it its distinctive taste. We even learn how Kentucky whiskey differs from Tennessee whiskey, again this is marketing hype more than anything else.

We are introduced to George Remus, called "the King of bootleggers." He was a lawyer who owned a string of pharmacies, and after prohibition was enacted, he decided he could make much more money making his own booze than buying from the few legal distillers enabled to sell to pharmacies, which could only dispense the precious spirits with a doctor's prescription. George also thought of a neat gimmick of hijacking his own insured shipments and then reselling it at much higher prices than he could in the pharmacies. He made about 40 million in the 1920s. He was eventually sentenced to two years in jail, during which time his wife Imogene filed for divorce. George wasn't too happy about what Imogene had been doing while he was behind bars. He got out before the divorce could be finalized; hunted her down; killed her then pleaded insanity and got off. He died of natural causes in 1952. Is that a cool story or what.

We learn about Hiram Walker and how his Canadian whiskey morphed into a club whiskey [and what that means] called Canadian Club. There is much more in the story of bourbon whiskey than I briefly covered in this short synopsis. Highly recommended and greatly enjoyed while sipping my own favorite Kentucky bourbon.

20 people found this helpful

RWK

Must Have Book if Interested in Bourbon

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

If you are interested in bourbon this is a must have. Michael Veach has spent much of his career working in or studying the bourbon industry and presents this excellent overview of bourbon and its makers in an independent way without any allegiance to a particular sect of the industry. He does a masterful job covering the history of the industry in a factual way but still includes the many interesting stories that have become part of the lore of bourbon and discussing how these traditional claims may or may not be true. When you finish the book you will have a thorough understanding of the early history of bourbon, how the government with its taxation, prohibition and world war negatively impacted the bourbon industry and almost brought it to its knees. How business decisions made by the bourbon industry in the 60's and 70's harmed its image and impacted its market share. You will leave with an understanding of many of the key players that were critical in bringing bourbon back to a leadership role in the whiskey industry and the huge growth it is experiencing today. I found this book to be an interesting, well written, and factual book that addresses many of the myths of bourbon in an entertaining manner. I highly recommend it.

13 people found this helpful

johnjorg

Excellent history, wonderful stories, told by one of the best at telling the real story of bourbon.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

The current boom (some say "bubble") in the popularity of bourbon has precipitated a rash of articles and a few books on bourbon recently. Michael Veach has been writing and lecturing about bourbon and its history for years - long before the rash appeared. This is one of, maybe, three or four on the subject that I consider a "must read". I could be wrong, now, but several decades (more than three) of reading books on American history tells me otherwise. His writing is easy to read and his stories and historical reports, although straightforward, are entertaining and informative. I know that bourbon aficionados (some call us Geeks) love this book, and I expect that the casual bourbon fan as well as those interested in the growth of the US in the 1800s would like this book - at least the ones I've talked to like it.

4 people found this helpful

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Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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