A little whiskey distiller trivia is a light-hearted attempt to take your mind off of the uncertainty of the day. See how many of these you can answer without going online! (Answers are found at the end of this post).

1. The best selling whiskey in the world is Jack Daniels. Yes, there was a Jack Daniel who created his number seven Tennessee whiskey in the late eighteen hundreds. What was Jack Daniel’s real name?
2. This distiller was trained as a physician and worked in several Kentucky distilleries. He became the head distiller at the Oscar Pepper Distillery and later moved to the Johnson distillery where he eventually died on the job. You can still purchase bourbon named after him today. Can you guess?
3. This lady distiller inherited the Waterfill & Frazier Distillery when her husband passed away.  Prohibition closed her distillery and she attempted to hide some liquor for the future. Revenue officers eventually found the stash. She then moved her entire distillery to Juarez, Mexico and began to compete with American distillers. She is buried in the Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Cemetery. This is a tough one.
4. This distiller needed a brand and did not want to use the family name. He created I. W. Harper Bourbon and had a successful career. This gentleman donated land to the state of Kentucky and has a forest named after him near Bardstown, Kentucky. This should be an easier question for many bourbon followers. Can you name him?
5. This famous distiller invented the concept of the distillery tour. His glamorous distillery served as a showplace to bring potential customers and sell them on the idea that his bourbon was superior. He made sure every visitor left with a “tenth pint” bottle of whiskey. This distiller gave away the best tour souvenir ever, name him.
6. This gentleman was a champion of selling bourbon in glass bottles before it was common practice. His company has gone on to own some of the great whiskey brands in America including Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve. Name this industry giant.
7. This military man was also a commercial farmer. Owning fertile land for growing corn he eventually built a distillery to convert surplus corn into whiskey. This was a common way to preserve and transport excess corn. He went on to become president of the United States only after disavowing the liquor business. Can you guess this president and distiller?
8. Another historical name in bourbon history may or may not have been a distiller. However, he was fined for making illegal whiskey in 1798. He founded the town of Georgetown, Kentucky and is sometimes referred to as the inventor of bourbon. You can purchase a bottle of his namesake bourbon today. Who is he?

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of fun during these trying times. Take care of yourself and loved ones, and remember what FDR once stated: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.

Answers:

(1) Jasper Newton Daniel. (2) James C. Crow. (3) Mary Dowling. (4) Isaac Wolfe Bernheim. (5) Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. (6) George Garvin Brown. (7) William Henry Harrison. (8) Elijah Craig.