History and Lore of Kentucky Bourbon

History and Lore of Kentucky Bourbon

Part 1 - 1790-1910: Weds., March 8, 7:00-8:00pm / $39 / 1 Class

Instructor: Phil Kollin

Location: In-Person at VPC Campus

During this course, we'll take an in-depth look at bourbon's earliest beginning in the late 18th century. We'll talk about how America's first days went hand-in-hand with the birth of the bourbon industry in Kentucky and beyond. We'll start with a time when a recently retired George Washington was the owner of America's largest whiskey distillery and examine those early Kentucky whiskies from brands that would eventually become Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace and others. Colorful stories from the frontier and the factory as a new industry were born out of the work from relatives of Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln. And even how the Civil War impacted soldiers on both sides of the war and what General Grant preferred to have in his glass…a bottle that is still on store shelves today! Take a trip back to see how it all started. And learned what's largely stayed the same over the 200 years…and what had changed dramatically!

History and Lore of Kentucky Bourbon

Part 2 - 1910 - Today: Weds., March 22, 7:00-8:00pm / $39 / 1 Class

Instructor: Phil Kollin

Location: In-Person at VPC Campus

Picking up where Part I ended in 1910, we'll discuss a time when bourbon was booming across 48 states brought on by industrial developments like a new automated bottle-making system able to make glass bottles widely available for the first time. And, of course, we will take a long, somber look at America's long dry spell when bourbon was off the shelf and in the speakeasies during Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. The back half of the 1900's brought a rocky road of challenges and triumphs as American Whiskey had to compete with everything from World War II to changing tastes to the ride of vodka cocktails. There will be tales of larger-than-life characters who changed Kentucky Bourbon forever such as Booker Noe, Jimmy Russell and Elmer T. Lee and modern innovators such as Jim Rutledge and Lincoln Henderson. We'll end by raising a (virtual) glass to bourbon's journey and triumph in becoming more in demand than ever and solidifying it's spot as America's Native Spirit!