by Don Williams | Feb 11, 2022 | Bourbon history, Bourbon Personalities, Unique Bottles
Mary Dowling a Distiller, Bootlegger, and Philanthropist Mary Dowling is a fascinating woman in bourbon history. She was a wife, mother, business owner, bootlegger, civic leader, and philanthropist. Before Prohibition, she owned and operated a distillery and was...
by Don Williams | Apr 2, 2020 | Bourbon Bars, Bourbon history, Bourbon Trivia
The term blind pig originated in the 19th century and referred to a low-end place where people could get illegal alcohol during prohibition. The following is the Story Behind Blind Pigs and Speakeasies. The term blind pig was predated by the term blind tiger. Many...
by Don Williams | Jan 16, 2020 | Bourbon history, Bourbon Personalities, Distilleries
By now, you are aware that bottles of Pappy Van Winkle sell for large sums of money and many people feel lucky if they can find a bottle to purchase. It does not matter to some whether it is a couple of thousand dollars, but it is the opportunity to own a bottle of...
by Don Williams | Nov 7, 2019 | Bourbon history, Bourbon Personalities, Distilleries
What do George Remus, Jack Daniels, and murder have to do with bourbon? Remus purchased a minority interest in the Jack Daniel’s Distillery directly from a nephew of Jack Daniel himself. Prohibition was in force, and Remus was always looking for ways to secure “the...
by Don Williams | Jul 4, 2018 | Bourbon history, Distilleries
Recently my friend Larry led me to a bourbon discovery when he told me about a gentleman that owned an unopened bottle of medicinal bourbon. Ken was gracious enough to allow me to see and photograph the bottle and the retail box in person. It was a vintage...