Re: Texas Bourbon
The name Bourbon came from the newly won America naming a few counties after French generals, and nobles and such. The original Bourbon county was right on the river where shipped products such as Kentucky Whiskey left from. On the barrel it said 'Bourbon' 'Kentucky Whiskey' to show what was in the barrel, and where it came from. After a while, the name Bourbon just came to mean any Kentucky Whiskey. It was not until much later( 75 to 200 years or so, as we are talking about the late 1787 +/- here) that Bourbon as a drink was given a legal status on what was in it and how it was to be aged. The original barrels were still the only way it shipped until after 1865. After 1865 the first bottle emerged as shipped production increased to the frontier. This was done to prevent the barman from selling off the good stuff to his rich clients, then mixing a cocktail of acid(for burn), corn beer, and just a little whiskey for taste to give his normal clientelle.
A few notable notes:
The first brick and mortar distillery was made in 1730.
The earliest brewing in the US was around 1642 when the Dutch brewed and distilled their corn based beer.
There have been many cases of individuals buying a used barrel, covering it in a big plastic bag, and evaporating the rest of the boutbon from the wet barrel.
The original Whiskey Rebellion was stopped when a deal was made with the government to pay up front for 'ration whiskey'(1/2p per day for Navy, and 1/4p for Army) so that the stillman could pay his taxes.
Schools out ya'all!
