My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

[dave ziegler]

Here are some Continental ads and Promo's the Inver House one is one I bought a few years ago I have it set to may. Nice Kinsey Gold ad and Charter Oak Bourbon.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Here is another Promo I got a long time ago wagon with mini 1/10 Haller's County Fair Bourbon.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Just got done siping a shot of 1965 Kinsey Silver Blended 86.6 given to me by my old friend Ludy. He is 90 yrs old and I went to visit him today to borrow a picture of the Plant taken from the air in the second year he worked there 1937 for Mr Kinsey. It is a wonderful aerial shot and you can see they are just building Warehouse H Wood and Brick it is only half done in the picture. I am going to get it on my work computer Monday and post it. In the picture only some of the old buildings are there including Old #12 which I am going to crop one of the copies to show a closeup of the still! There are gardens beside the still and flower beds I have never seen this picture the place looks like a farm and I am most happy to get a copy for myself and for our historic Society and to post on the SB. Before I left he told me to take an unopened 4/5 Pint of Kinsey Silver 86.6 Proof home with me as he can't drink anymore I have just cracked it open and had a shot and ?
The Kinsey Silver turned out to be way better then I ever thought it would a very smooth but not weak Blended Whiskey the bottle will not go in my collection till it is empty.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Here is the copy I made from The Original Picture of Kinsey in 1937 and a croped version of it to show the #12 Still better, note in the Picture they are Building the Last of the Wood and Brick warehouses building Warehouse H. Also I have included a Picture of the back of the Boiler room with stack, Back of the still and another Picture of the Pink Mack B-61 that used to sit there after it was abandon. And finnaly two pictures of the old Kinsey Barn next to the Kinsey house near the river with the old Sinclair Pump used back in my days also, I had posted a picture of the Sinclair pump out front near the old Bottle house before, it is still there someone stole this one and the Barn fell down since these pictures, the barn when I took these had distillery Equipment sitting up on the top floor. One more thing note at that time before Continental bought the Place there was no rail lines and no company owned Bridge bringing them in that came after Continental bought Kinsey Late 1939/ 1940. Also if you look close at the Plant pictures you can see the words Kinsey on the Tank on top of the Still!
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Speaking to the Historic Society on Sunday when I gave them a copy of this picture # 1 they said this is the rarest picture of Kinsey they have ever seen. If you look to the left there is a field of what looks like Corn, also a garden next to the house. At that time a Man by the name Scher lived in that house he rented it from Jacob Kinsey. Also note across from warehouse H which is being built there is a Orchard where the 1944 Continental Building U later big Bottling house stands now. At this time the place was 300 acre's Mr Kinsey Lived down near the River. If you walk down through the Game Lands into the woods you can see on each side of the woods are special Trees all placed a certain distance apart this was a carridge Road to Kinsey's home way back if you walked there not knowing you would wonder why in the middle of the woods are trees on each side the same type and in two lines going down through. Also no rail bridge coming in and the road is very small and .the trees are not as big along the river. I am very Happy that Ludy let me copy this to preserve Kinsey's History. Also this picture shows the grain building and if you look close the tank on top of #12 reads Kinsey. You can also see the Boiler room stack the same but larger Boiler room that was there when I worked there. We had our time clock in the Still building out in the front. We would stand there and throw bread to the Fish that were in the mash tanks I have many fond memories of that, the fish were huge. I spent many a day up stairs sweeping I loved walking around exploring the Old Still!
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Here is a Picture of an old Advertising post card for Kinsey / Angelo Myers Distillery, if you walk in the woods on the left side facing Limerick near the game lands the Old Fence still stands in most places and some of the Hundred year old Boards are still in it!
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Also if you look at the 1937 Picture of Kinsey the buildings on the right by the river are-from the road back Warehouses E, D,B and A. the Old Kinsey Bottle House beside the Warehouses which was actualy the second one as Ludy told me as Mr Kinsey's great Nephew did that they Bottled at first right in the Kinsey #10 Still Rye building which is just behind the bottle House. And behind Buildiing H going up are warehouses F & G back of it.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

I remember how very busy we were when I started at Kinsey they were Hiring people every week and the possibilities were amazing then. We had 600 people in the Plant two shifts in the bottle house and day shift in the plant where I worked the yard gang the first two yrs. We spent most days in the summer just caring for the Lawns, trees, and flower beds. Also I would get the job of sweeping up the floors in the buildings not used anymore like the #12 Still which housed our Time clock. Everyone of the old Buildings was kept clean did not matter if it would ever be used Again that was Publickers Policy. It was fasinatiing sweeping in the old Still I always offered to sweep in it, when I would go upstairs I would check out all the old controls. The old Honeywell chart panel with disc's in it from early 1950's marked for the next day to run which never came. I wonder what the last batch of Whiskey was run that day in 1951? Between the Old #10 Still building a barn, warehouse d & e and the old Bottle house is a set of tracks too roll filled whiskey barrels right to the warehouse from filling them in #10. Evertime I go back I see something that brings back great memories for me. Also much sadness seeing it all sitting and rotting. In my mind I can see the Box cars lined up in front of the new Bottle house fall 1966 being loaded with lots of cheer for the Holidays. We would be very busy from Sept till late Dec every year. It is such a shame that such an amazing company no longer exsists. I will always be thankful for my chance to work for Publicker Ind under Mr Neuman he was a great man and the company was an awesome place to work with great Whiskeys and Industrial Products!
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

After Much searching I have found a picture of a Gus Niarhos Baseball card when He later Played for the Boston Red Sox. I have one of Gus's cards but can't find it. Gus was a great guy and came to Kinsey every Winter to be a company Man when I worked there and boy did he have the Stories and he could throw a mean dice game! Many fridays a bunch of us would jump in Gus's car and go to Spring City to an Irish bar to get a beer! He would always say to me Zig if Yogie bera is the #1 Catcher and Elston Howard the #2 you can bet you will get splinters in your butt sitting on the bench! Gus Played for The Yankee's & The Boston red Sox. I will always have fond memories of Gus. When he was not playing or Managing Minor League Base Ball he Lived in Phoenixville Pa.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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[dave ziegler]

Here are some pictures from April when I gave my talk about Kinsey Distillery and Publicker Ind.The first picture is me with Al Landis 90 yrs old the great nephew of Jacob G Kinsey, Pic 2 is some of the stuff I took to show. Picture 3 is me and Al Landis holding an original artist's picture of Kinsey. #4 & 5 are of my 1914 distilled 1919 shipped Kinsey rye whiskey wooden Wiskey case with Kinsey on one side and Angelo Myers on the other plus a old tax stamp of some sort. Pic# 6 is me talking and showing an Old Hickory Decanter, and the last picture is me with my bottles. It was alot of fun and they took these pictures and sent them to me and a very nice letter saying the people really enjoyed the history I told them. It is always fun for me to talk about the Distillery and what a great place to work it was those were very good days for me and the other 599 people that worked there! At the end of the night I gave Al Landis a Red Crown Scotch bottle, Kinsey Bottle House did Gin,Scotch,Bourbon,Vodka,Blended Whiskey and Rum for A&P stores under the Label Red Crown Distillers Linfield Pa. Al Landis dumped the first barrel to be dumped at Kinsey Distillery after Prohibition Ended.
Dave Z
Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon
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