Bourbon ethnicity

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Everyone keeps trying to tell me that the original bourbon distillers were Scots-Irish. Yet while there were undoubtedly were Scots involved (James Crow, for one, though he was later), Beam was originally Boehm, a German family, and most of the rye whiskey distillers from Pennsylvania who moved away from the federal government down the Ohio were German. Anyone have any further information on this?

Lew Bryson
Hirsch Reserve 16 YO: Real Pennsylvania Bourbon

[cowdery]

Hi Lew,

Since distilling was widely practiced throughout the colonies, almost from the first settlement, the ethnic backgrounds of distillers pretty much mirrored those of the colonists. The English distilled, as did the Scots, the Irish, and the Scots-Irish. Later waves of immigrants, like the Germans and Scandinavians, also distilled. Everyone distilled. What they distilled was primarily a function of where they were and what was available, not of where they came from. I have no information to suggest that any particular ethnic group had a corner on it. It's hard for us to imagine now, but distilling was very widely practiced. It was as common as smoking hams or baking bread.

- chuck

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Anyone Here,

I know this is probably not proper but I don't know where to start. I am in search of information and don't know where to get it. Maybe you can help. My Mother has found some old Bourbon bottles still sealed with the following information.

OLD PRENTICE DISTILLERY
LAWRENCEBURG, KENTUCKY
101 PROOF EAGLE RARE
KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY
1 BARRELL OUT OF 37 WOULD QUALIFY
THIS IS OVER 10 YEARS OLD

Can you tell me if this Distillery is still in business, is the above a collectable or any info about the existence of this company. Please Help
David James

[cowdery]

See my answer in the General Bourbon Topics section. The only thing "improper" about your post was that you put it in multiple sections, which is irritating to regular participants in the forum. In the future, pick the best section and post your inquiry there. If after a few days you don't get any responses, try another section. Multiple posting of the same message is considered spam and pollutes the forum, making people grumpy and less helpful than you might like.

-chuck

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Thanks Chuck for the help, and sorry for the multiple posts, that always happens to newbies