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bourbonv wrote:Let me repeat, I do not think that the Scots-Irish had no effect on American distilling, I just think their claims have been exagerated over the years. Too many of the early distilling families here in Kentucky were of German heritage to ignore the Germanic influences

Mike, sometimes I think we're just calling out into the dark void of Elijah Craig and Even Williams believers
(and bourbon enthusiasts proud of their own United Kingdom genealogies).

bourbonv also wrote:Weller is a German family. I worked with genealogist whoi has traced the Weller family back to Maryland where they ran a match manufacturing business and back to there home town in Germany

and earlier he wrote:I think the traditional "melting pot" scenario took place here, combining German, Scots-Irish and a touch of French influences to create the American whiskey we have today

You might also be interested in the attached .pdf about the LaRue family, especially keeping in mind the relationship between the Huguenots, Alsace, the German Palatine, the Bohemians (Boehms) and the Swiss Mennonites. Note also the New Jersey and Bucks County, Pennsylvania references, which would relate that family (certainly socially; perhaps maritally as well) with the Overholts, Boehms, and Booths of that time and place.

I was contacted by a writer of historical fiction at work and I recommended that he check out this site and in particular this thread and my review of the Hogeland book. I thought I would move this forward to make it easier to find this thread. I also want him to note the cultural aspect of early distillings. I think John's post about the LaRue's is very informative. I don't think the world really needs another book painting the same myth of Scots-Irish created American whiskey. There are some other threads I may move forward as well.

We have a Filson scholar here this week working on her PhD from Syracuse. She is researching the political clubs of the 1790's. One of her points is that in a speach by Washington in 1794, he blamed the political clubs for the whiskey rebellion. Hogeland does not seem to place much emphasis on these clubs in the Pittsburgh area and the real "hotbed" for these clubs is further east in Philadelphia. The one thing that both the clubs and the rebellion seem to have in common are Revolutionary War veterans - particularly those not of officer status. This does seem to add yet another component to the whiskey rebellion formula and that is rebellion against the formation of a native aristocratic class. I say this because that was part of the reason for forming these democratic-republican clubs. They saw themselves as watchdogs of the politicians and a balancing factor to the Order of the Cincinnati.