Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Bourbon Archaeology and Jack Jouett; American Hero, Distiller



Jack Jouett is the most famous Kentuckian you’ve never heard of. Nicknamed “The Paul Revere of the South,” Captain Jouett’s night ride on June 3, 1781, warned Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson and several patriot members of the Virginia legislature that 250 British troops were coming to get them. Thanks to Jouett, Jefferson and most of the legislators got away.

Jouett later moved to what is now Woodford County, Kentucky, where his home has been preserved as a historic landmark. You may visit it if you'd like.

If you have even more time to spare, you might want to become a volunteer archaeologist. Nicolas Laracuente heads a team that is exploring Jouett's 18th century farm distillery, and other farm distilleries nearby. Laracuente and his team are pioneering a new field, bourbon archaeology. Believe it or not, the earliest days of Kentucky's landmark whiskey industry have been little studied by historians and archaeologists.

You can read all about it in the new issue of The Bourbon Country Reader

The Reader itself is brushing up against history. It began more than 20 years ago. It is the oldest publication devoted entirely to America's whiskey. This is issue number 100. (Back issues are available.)

Also in this issue, an inside look at the restored Old Taylor Distillery near Frankfort, now known as Castle & Key. It is almost ready to start making whiskey again after half a century. Also close to completion are two new distilleries, Wilderness Trail in Danville and the Bardstown Bourbon Company.

All three represent a new trend, whiskey distilleries that while they are much smaller than the familiar majors, they are hardly 'micro.' The Reader is all over it.

To experience The Bourbon Country Reader for yourself, you need to subscribe. Honoring tradition, The Bourbon Country Reader still comes to you on paper, in an envelope, via the USPS.

A subscription to The Bourbon Country Reader is still just $20 per year for addresses in the USA, $25 for everyone else. The Bourbon Country Reader is published six times a year, more-or-less.

Click here to subscribe with PayPal or any major credit card, or for more information. Click here for a free sample issue (in PDF format). Click here to open or download the free PDF document, "The Bourbon Country Reader Issue Contents in Chronological Order." (It's like an index.)

If you want to catch up on what you've missed, bound back issue volumes are available for $20 each, or three for $50.

If you prefer to pay by check, make it payable to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, and mail it to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, 3712 N. Broadway, PMB 298, Chicago, IL 60613-4198. Checks drawn on U.S. banks only, please.

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