The Production of American Whiskey Today and How It Got That Way

Diageo's 2017 Bulleit Distillery near Shelbyville, Kentucky.

American whiskey may be the greatest comeback story of all time. Left for dead a half-century ago, today it bestrides the world. 

Although it seems like we have been talking about the 'bourbon boom' forever, the industry has grown only recently in terms of the number of distilleries producing American whiskey and the number of different companies involved. The biggest players have gotten and are getting much bigger, and there are several newcomers. It's a new ball game and the biggest changes have occurred in the last four years.

Is it enough? Is it too much? No one can know for sure, but at least you can be well-informed about where we are and where we seem to be headed.

If, that is, you read the new issue of The Bourbon Country Reader. It drops today. This is the third in our "How It Got That Way" series.

Current Reader subscribers should receive their copies in a few days. New subscribers can get on the bandwagon by clicking here.

Born in 1993, in the 201st year of Kentucky statehood, The Bourbon Country Reader is the oldest publication devoted entirely to American whiskey. It is a charming mix of news, history, analysis, and product reviews. Do you worry that advertising spending influences coverage in other publications? No chance of that here since The Bourbon Country Reader is 100 percent reader-supported. It accepts no advertising.

To experience The Bourbon Country Reader for yourself, you need to subscribe. Honoring history, The Bourbon Country Reader still comes to you exclusively on paper, in an envelope, via the USPS. Doing our part to keep the USPS solvent, we use only First Class Mail.

A subscription to The Bourbon Country Reader is still a mere $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, but your subscription always includes six issues no matter how long it takes. For those of you keeping track, this new one is Volume 20, Number 2.

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 searchable 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. That's here too.

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.