Tag Archives: June 14

June 14 1789, First Bourbon whiskey

June 4. On this day, in 1789, whiskey was first distilled from maize (corn) by Rev Elijah Craig of Kentucky. He named his product “Bourbon whiskey” as a reference to Bourbon County. Until the innovation of the Rev Craig, US whiskey was made mostly from rye, usually with some malted barley added as an enzymatic modifier for the rye starch. George Washington, the first US president, made whiskey from rye this way, becoming the largest distiller in the US in the late 1700s. He used very little malt.

For reasons that are not at all clear, consumption of Bourbon whiskey has far surpassed that of rye whiskey in the US. Here, Senator Mitch McConnell tells congress about the spirit of Kentucky, Bourbon whiskey. And here is his speech set to music along with other news of the day, and a comment by President Obama saying he’d enjoy having a drink with Senator McConnell. What would that drink be? I’ll guess a mint julep, the classic Kentucky concoction, typically made with Bourbon, sugar, and spearmint.

On the topic, I should mention that the favorite drink of Lyndon B. Johnson, was Bourbon and branch water. And that Theodore Roosevelt served mint juleps at The White house (if you played tennis with him) using his own, White-house grown mint, but that Theodore Roosevelt made his mint juleps with rye, not Bourbon. June 14th is also flag day (though only celebrated in Pennsylvania), and the day of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, and the day of the Marijuana act, 1937. Hawaii joined the union this day, and Paris fell in WWII.

GWKuhn outflow point. During a storm this outflow is filled to the roof.

GWKuhn outflow point. During a storm this outflow is filled to the roof.

Robert Buxbaum, June 14, 2016. This is also the day I got to see the George W. Kuhn sewage retention facility. A few days ago, I walked into the outflow pipe, some 60 feet wide by 22 feet tall. –> see picture. Among the things I was looking for were convenient connection points i could use to separate the storm from the sanitary sewage flow through the facility. Some months ago, I suggested that Michigan might change its state bird to the wild turkey.