Bourbon's Backroads (eBook)

A Journey through Kentucky's Distilling Landscape

Karl Raitz (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2019
216 Seiten
The University Press of Kentucky (Verlag)
978-0-8131-7844-8 (ISBN)

Infos

With more than fifty distilleries in the state, bourbon is as synonymous with Kentucky as horses and basketball. As one of the commonwealth's signature industries, bourbon distilling has influenced the landscape and heritage of the region for more than two centuries. Blending several topics -- tax revenue, railroads, the mechanics of brewing, geography, landscapes, and architecture -- this primer and geographical guide presents a detailed history of the development of Kentucky's distilling industry.

Nineteenth-century distilling changed from an artisanal craft practiced by farmers and millers to a large-scale mechanized industry that practiced increasingly refined production techniques. Distillers often operated at comparatively remote sites -- the "backroads" -- to take advantage of water sources or transport access. Some distillers adopted mechanization and the steam engine, forgoing water power -- a change that permitted geographical relocation of distilleries away from traditional sites along creeks or at large springs to urban or rural rail-side sites.

Based on extensive archival research that includes private paper collections, newspapers, and period documents, this work places the distilling process in its environmental, geographical, and historical context. Bourbon's Backroads reveals the places where bourbon's heritage was made -- from old and new distilleries, storage warehouses, railroad yards, and factories where copper fermenting vessels are made -- and why the industry continues to thrive.

Autor

lt;P>Karl Raitz is professor emeritus of the Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on the geographical history of the American landscape with an emphasis on infrastructure development, technology applications, and cultural heritage. His most recent book, Kentucky's Frontier Highway: Historical Landscapes along the Maysville Road, was coauthored with historical archaeologist Nancy O'Malley.

Inhalt

IntroductionKentucky's Distilling HeritageDistilling's Backstory: The PrerequisitesDistillery ConfigurationsApplying TechnologyComplementary IndustriesThe Inner Bluegrass Region: Remnants and Contemporary Distillery WorksThe Outer Bluegrass Region: Railroads and the Transition to Industrial DrillingDistilling in the Ohio River ValleyEpilogue: Backroads and the Reservoir of Tradition

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.11.2019
• Zusatzinfo: 8 b&w halftones, 3 illustrations, 24 maps, 4 line drawings, 2 graphs, 4 tables
• Verlagsort: Lexington
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 180 x 180 mm
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Schlagworte: 19th Century America • American History • bourbon barrels • bourbon distilling • bourbon industry • Bourbon Whiskey • commercial distilleries • Corn Whiskey • Cultural History • Distilling • distilling technology • elija craig • Elijah Craig • Evan Williams • Evolution • evolution of bourbon • historic distilleries • historic Kentucky • History • Industrialization • industry history • industry hiwtory • Kentucky • Moonshine • Nineteenth century • Social Geography • Social History • southern heritage • southern history
• ISBN-10: 0-8131-7844-4 / 0813178444
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-7844-8 / 9780813178448