An interesting haul

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Unread postby gillmang » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:54 pm

Most interesting, thanks gents.

Gary
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Unread postby bourbonv » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:26 am

Gary,
To add to what Chuck said, The law requires that the slop to be disposed of by either 1) selling/giving away to farmers in wet form or, 2) dried and sold as feed. If the operation is too big of an operation, then a drier house is a requirement. Jack Daniel's and Brown-Forman, Shively both produce more slop than they could possibly get rid of in wet form so they have a drier house, whereas Woodford Reserve produces in less quantity and is able to simply sell it to local farmers. The price the farmers pay for the slop is really very low - about a dollar a gallon - but the distillery does not need to make much money on the sale. The farmers are doing the distillers a favor by taking the slop, keeping the distiller from having to invest in a drier house.

On a historic note, the old distillers regulations stated that a government agent could not destroy a still if the distiller was found to have broken the law if 1) the still was of a capacity of more than 3 barrels a day or 2) if it could be proved that 20 head of livestock was dependent upon the slop from the distillery.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby bourbonv » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:13 pm

Today I found a receipt for a photographer who photographed the warehouse in July of 1871 and made duplicate prints in August 1871 at the OFC distillery. I wish I had one of those duplicates!
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby bourbonv » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:47 am

Today I am looking at an invoice from Capital Brewery in Franfort. Taylor is bying yeast from the owner, Sig. Luscher, 2 and 4 gallons at a time.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby bourbonv » Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:24 am

Yoday there is some paperwork for receiving $29.60 for selling 296 barrels of slop in October 1871.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby bourbonv » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:04 pm

Today there is a receipt from Henry Carey Baird, Industrial Publisher, Philadelphia, for a copy of Duplais' Distillation for $10.75, dated 23 February 1874. Taylor kept a fine library - I wish this book was part of the Taylor-Hay collection!
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby bourbonv » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:42 am

Today there is a 12 October 1912 letter from CW Hay to Jos. M Rogers describing 6 bottles of Spring 1892 Old Taylor bourbon. The whiskey is 21 years old and 145 proof. He recomends that it be drank with about 2/3 water because of the high proof making it "pretty hot". He states it has "a beautiful color and the smell is in a class by itself".
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby Brewer » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:15 am

bourbonv wrote:He recomends that it be drank with about 2/3 water because of the high proof making it "pretty hot". He states it has "a beautiful color and the smell is in a class by itself".


Damn Mike, that must've been something else. Cut with 2/3 water? Wow! That had to be hell-fire hot! :twisted:
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Unread postby cowdery » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:30 pm

This confirms something I have wondered about. I have seen references to long-aged bourbon in the pre-Prohibition era before mostly in fiction. It would seem that although the vast majority of the straight whiskey produced was four to eight years old the distillers did make, if only for a small insider group, some very well-aged spirit.
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Unread postby gillmang » Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:45 pm

It may have been quite similar to one of the Staggs. The new HH 21 year old rye may be another reference point, or in fact, a combination of that and the Hazmat Stagg and, oh never mind. :)

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Unread postby bourbonv » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:35 pm

Chuck,
There was a market for extra aged whiskey, but it was not a huge one. I have seen advertisements for 10, 15 and even 20 year old whiskey from before prohibition. Mammoth Cave Bourbon was originally a 20 yo bourbon. They avoided taxes by shipping it overseas and bringing it back after 20 years - the import tax was cheaper than the excise that would have had to been paid after 8 years. Taylor sold some Old Taylor 10yo at 100 proof after the turn of the 20th century, but could not call it bonded because it was over 8 years old and tax paid, thus out of the bonded warehouse for 2 years.

Aged whiskey was available for those willing to pay for it. A bottle of 20yo bourbon might sell for as nuch as $20.00 a quart when bonded bourbon was selling for about $1.50 a quart.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Unread postby cowdery » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:56 am

That's exactly what I mean, it existed but it was for a very small, almost "insider" market.
- Chuck Cowdery

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Unread postby bourbonv » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:44 am

Today I have an booklet for the liquidation sale at public auction for the Old Rock Springs Distillery property, Owensboro, Ky. 15 April 1930. This is a nice inventory of items in the remaining buildings, includding 2 - 5 gallon jugs in the old bottling hall. The building that is not listed is the distillery. Since prohibition forced all distilleries to close and to be scrapped this buildng probobly only existed as an empty shell, if it was not torn down.

also today are letters about purchasing the Tom Moore Distillery, the Waterfill and Frasier Distillery, The Greenbrier distillery, the Shawhan distillery, and the Sam clay distillery. Taylor Hay wanted to own a distillery bad but finances always got in the way.
Mike Veach
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Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:58 pm

Today there are some letters and paperwork, including a description of the assets of the Old Happy Hollow distillery, Owned by Glenmore (75% stock) and Yellowstone (25% stock) who wish to sell the distillery. Any guesses as to who ends up with this distillery?
Mike Veach
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Unread postby brendaj » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:45 am

bourbonv wrote:Today there are some letters and paperwork, including a description of the assets of the Old Happy Hollow distillery, Owned by Glenmore (75% stock) and Yellowstone (25% stock) who wish to sell the distillery. Any guesses as to who ends up with this distillery?


:bounce:
Oh Mike, how cool!
Would Happy Hollow be the reincarnation of Burks Spring Distillery, after prohibition? Happy Hollow Sour Mash was their flagship brand. If Samuels, Sr. bought it from them, did Glenmore actually distill there for a time before he bought it?

Would love to know the dates of those letters.
As a Kentuckian, I consider it my civic duty to drink Bourbon, smoke and bet the ponies. Its a tuff job, but someone has to do it...
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