My Memories of Kinsey Distilling

[dave ziegler]

I am looking forward to the open house at Limerick Historic Society I am very fortunite to have been able to help them with stuff from my Kinsey stuff. I am still very much trying to save whatever I can from Kinsey and always finding out about products we made I never knew about including a Whiskey I saw up for auction at whiskey auction.com.

A clear 6 year old Whiskey called White Duck this must have been one of our experimental Light Whiskeys at least that is my guess. It is one I never knew of and I am sure there are many more.

The Thing about Continental Distilling was we were always looking for something new and inovative that people might want.

This was one we gave up on Light Whiskey and ended up selling what we had off, but it did not stop us from going on trying new Idea's.

I am posting the last of my pictures from past Sunday.

1.O Building the Government Building/warehouse/water distilling and lumch room and blending room all in this one of a Kind Explosion proof warehouse and the only one to have any windows of the 14.

2. Looking up at The back of O building from Warehouse M back side of the 1966 Bottling House..

3. & 4. Two shots of the Old 1959 Ford Dump truck one of the very last to run around for Continental Distilling Vandels have written over the word Continental Distilling how Hateful the Vandels are to me!

5. Another shot of the two 1/2 million Gal whiskey storage tanks across from Warehouse J

6. The First floor of the Old yellow company House were George Dill company man and dear friend lived so long ago. Our Bourbon Drinking Plant Nurse had her office in this first floor room.

7. This is a shot of the lastest vandel work hole in floor, we have a fire bug in Limerick right now and I hope they get them soon. Last week they tried to start a fire in the old House but people quick went over and got the fire company to stop it. This is in real bad shape from years of abandonment but it is very historic as After prohibition ended Mr Jacob G Kinsey lived in this house suring 2/3 of the week going back to his Large home in Phila's Parkside weekends. He lived here till he went bankrupt. When He first bought the place He lived down by the river in the Old William Evans home if not the oldest one of only a couple in Limerick it had its own carriage Drive back then and was liven in till 1986 when Continental went out of Bussiness.

8. Here is a side view of the Old yellow House I loved this old place when I worked there it was so filled with History.

9. A shot from the front drive looking back you can still the other water tower at the back of the plant above the 1966 Bottle House.

10.

11. The 3rd company house also out front on the left side of the driveways into Kinsey it is the newest one of the 3 and ruined to now. Back in the day our engineers stayed there and traveled home on the weekends.

12. Daffidills still blooming in the Old Flower bed I worked on so long ago the are still living and bring back to me How very Beautiful My Kinsey Distillery Looked back in those Days to a 19 year old Kid working the yard gang.

I hope to get back soon and look for other good shots and to recall more memories of Kinsey Distilling.

Dave Z

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Join The Swing To Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For

Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

Last night was a Very Good Night for me as I got a unexpected phone call from my friend in Ca. that was back in the day a very important person at Continental Distilling.

He informed me unless something not expected happens he will be coming to pa in July to stay at his home somewhere near where I work now. We are going to be talking about Contiental from his perspective and he has hundreds of Photos of the Publicker owned Plants so I am very excited. I also want to show him the stuff I have donated to the local Historic society and the Barrel I donated in Mr Neumans memory.

If This can happen this is going to be a great summer I have not met him personally but have talked to him many times on the phone and He knows more then I ever even dreamed of about Continental Distilling and Publicker and that information will come to this site.

I also hope to sometime soon go back in the 1966 Bottle house for final photo's. And again if you live within 50 miles of Limerick please come to the open house at the Historic society home on Old ridge pike. There is a large parking lot 1/2 a block from them that the Chiropracter has told them can be used and I think there will be some refreshments. It starts at 1:00 PM and goes till 4:00 PM. I would love to talk Kinsey with any of you that can come as far as I know Fricky will be stopping by and I hope to see some SB People that day. I will have some of my collection there to show and it will be a fun time.

The other week I saw to my Horror that Vandels had removed a man hole cover and crawled down to cut power line wires. I wish that someone would have had the forethought back in 1986 to have bought the Old Buildings and made a living Distillery History Park. The Buildings were in great shape and you could have easily made them into the Condo's at Kinsey Distillery. Warehouses could have had condo names such as The Si Neuman Warehouse R Condo, The Bottle house could have been made into a large Meeting and events place and could have been called the Harry Publicker Building.

Why is it that someone like me with no money has these Idea's and people that could have done this did nothing. Now we have a place falling in ruin owed by a slum Lord left to be destroyed.

To me it is very cruel for this to have happen to Kinsey. The Whole place could have been called Jacob G Kinsey Square!

Well enough of dreaming what can't be I will continue to talk of the great days at Kinsey when I worked there and today would have been a day that the old 1951 Ford Pickup would have been running all day droping us off at different points in the plant to mow grass. Also it would be spring sweeping time and I would have been sweeping the floors of the Old DSP-Pa. 12 still, How I loved doing that building!

I would sweep and look at the old equipment the mash tanks, cyprus fermenters and Honeywell chart disc machine with disc's still in them for the next distilling day which never came in 1951!

I wish I would have thought back then to have an old camera and got some shots but it would have been hard. I spend every day looking for anything new I can find on Kinsey/Publicker/Continental Distilling. Plus I search my mind every day for things I remember, so I am still on a mission To keep the memory of Publicker alive into the future when I am gone!

Dave Z ------------The saying below I have used today was one from an old Kinsey Ad I Found

======================================================

The Best Old Fashioneds

Are, You'll Find

The Mellow, made With

kinsey Kind

[dave ziegler]

A trip into Kinsey on Sunday was as always fun and very sad also. I took about 36 pictures but the disc I have them on will not load so I will have to post them tomorrow.

I saw something the vandels had done that just amazed me how nutty they are. Walking in the far back tankage corner of the 1966 Bottling House and climbing the platforn to my total amazement someone had placed a step ladder 50 feet up on top of a tank to try and screw loose some aluminum Pipes I took a picture of the ladder sitting there and I will post it soon.

One slip and they could have fallen and laid there and easily died in the total darkness of the area. Who in their right mind would do that by Flashlight!

As always I looked for some cool stuff and found some neat explosion proof Lights in one of the warehouses. I took a few pictures of a room in the 1966 bottle house I have never been in and you can only get in there by way of one locked door. This room molded Plastic Antifreeze bottles and there is one small window size hole in the wall from the bottle house bottling area. I stuck my camera threw the hole and got several shots of this large blocked off room.

There are still antifreeze jugs waiting to travel out to the bottling area that never made it! I will post all this once I get them downloaded.

As always the vandels are doing all they can to destroy Kinsey, The air was rather good walking even though it was raining and I just looked around to see how things were holding up.

It was cool and fairly dry in the bottle house Sunday but after last night I'm sure there is water everywhere.

I found some old papers of Walt Harringtons laying in the tank area and fondly remembered him. I got some shots of valves with pull chains in warehouse C and another shot of the barrels sitting in there.

Once summer comes ever the vandels have a hard time getting around Kinsey.

I saw where what must have been a whole gang of Vandels had lifed an outside cast Iron cover weighing around 500 LB and crawed down a brick tunnel to cut wire cables from warehouse I to M. Never worring about it falling in on them.

My heart grew sad seeing that and I resigned myself to the fact there is nothing I can do to save Kinsey from these people.

In my mind I could hear old Eagle beek saying the nose knows, Dickie Pfieper getting mad at what someone had done to the old 1941 Ford flat trucks, hear Gus Nirohus saying come on Zig lets to get a beer on Friday at lunch.

Hear Old John calling me to help him as He needed Whiskey quick, hear the barrels rolling in the warehouses. The Old Ford trucks moaning under a load up the hill to O warehouse. And Bonda with a truck waiting to be shown where to deliver while he had a few quick pours of Bourbon from his flask! He would then put his old 1952 Pylmouth in first gear pull out and shift to second while waving out the window to follow him.

These memories are in my mind to stay and if I could take a trip back in time I would go there for a little while.

Those were exciting Times and Continental Distilling was THE WORLDS LARGEST MAKER OF DRINKING AND MEDICAL SPIRITS back then. How times have changed not for the good but just how things are today.

Dave Z

================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Here is the Picture of what I was talking about yesterday, the Vandels and how foolish they are here is a shot of a step ladder on top of one of the tanks some 20 plus feet in the air one slip and they would fall and die. plus 3 other pictures

1. Step ladder sitting on top of 2000 plus gallon tank they removed pipes to steel them.

2. & 3. Chain pulls for valves for tank lines in warehouse C.

4. Tank in warehouse C

Think about this fact they were doing this in total darkness by Flash light in a 199 acre plant in a 2 foot ball field long building no power no where to get help one slip and they could have laid there and died what a foolish thing to do, and what a sad thing knowing people are doing these things to the once proud state of Art 1966 Continental Distilling Bottling House!

Dave Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

There isn't a day I am not hoping to find some more Old Hickory Bourbon my supply is getting down and my love of it is always there. There is just something about the old style Whiskeys that I love.

Here are some more pictures from Sunday two weeks ago in the plant

1. I got this barrel for One of my Boss's He is going to restore it like the ones fricky and I have and put it in his Kitchen Mar 22,1971 date on head. This is the last one I will ever get most likely. I am thankful i was able to save 4 of them for History total counting the one given to the Historic Society

2. Another shot of the Tank Platform just at the begining of the Bottling Lines.

3. The Begining of what was Line A-1-F the early computer operated Bottling line that could do 40,000 bottles a day just by itself. It was the most modern Bottling Line in the world on Sept 1966 when it opened!

4. Line C the third line of 11 lines.

5. The only surviving 120 gal Barrel left at Kinsey a vandel has put his name proudly on it to my great dislike and knocked the head in also to my great dislike.

6. The top of the 120 gal barrel. we also had 320 gal barrels and boy did they take alot of work to stack.

Some of the hardest work I did in the warehouse was helping to put these up in stacks 3 tiers high. Before filling them we put a set of floaters in each barrel. Floaters were invented by Continental distilling and were pieces of White oak cut to a certain thickness and length and width and charred heavy and put in all big barrels to get more char wood flavor in the whiskey.

It was thought this idea would give 4 year old whiskey more of the flavor of 10 year old. To this day there are times this idea is brought back. So many industry things used in modern times came from Continental Distilling's committment to inovation!

The last year I worked there we even put one foalter in each 48 gal barrel when filling some times on a numbered lot so they could compare them to another numbered lot without in floaters in the same aging period being filled.

Dave Z

====================================================

It seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Today I have some more awesome Publicker / Continental Distillery pictures from my friend Butch who worked for Continental that the Bigler Street Plant! Here are the pictures including a rare picture of the #4 boiler room taken before the Walt Whitman bridge was built.

1. AA-Acetic Acid Plant taken from Delaware Ave from Phila Industrial Arcives because the Crane later fell on the Brand New 1951 Ford in the picture.

2. This picture is of The Swanson & Snyder Plant where Butch worked for a time and it was at that time listed as the biggest one in the whole Publicker Complex. Still House on The Left DSP-Pa. 1 Main office on the right side of the picture where car is.

3. Picture of the #4 Boiler House Picture taken before the Walt Whitman bridge was ever built.

4. Ad for Publicker comercial Alcohol 1921

5. Ad for our products from the Union book that Butch has I have a friend who has one of these and I hope to get some reproductions made of this for History.

Sorry about the 8th Picture being sideways but the format it was in would not let me do anything with it, but it is an amazing blueprint created by Butch of the original Artist picture of the Distilling Plants having worked there He added all the Info to make it so amazing. Tells you just how things were setup very cool thing.

6.Small Picture of the Bigler Plant with information from Butch

7. The largest Plant in there the Snyder Ave part with info from Butch

8. large PDf of the place with all the details of the whole thing.

I hope everyone enjoys these rare photo's and I hope to get more but I am getting worried about space as my amount of space is getting close to done, but will continue to use pictures to paint the story of Kinsey and Publicker/ Contiental Distilling and what a joy it was to work for the company and the amazing things Mr Neuman did to make this company number 454 on the Fortune 500, 5,000 employee powerhouse it was.

Butch worked for Publicker for 10 years and loved working for them also!

PS if you did not see the rare pictures on my Bottle House thread I posted yesterday please take a look they are from Butch also.

---------------------------------------------------

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

Dave Z

[Untitled].pdf Publickerpic.pdf

[dave ziegler]

On Saturday I was the guest of the Limerick Historic Society and people attending got to see The 48 gal Whiskey Barrel I donated in memory of Si Neuman, Fricky did the repairs on it and I am posting a picture taken then plus some others from that day.

Including one of Me and Al Landis whose Father was the master Distiller for Kinsey Distilling and His name was Hoarce Landis and it was Hoarce that Mr Neuman paid to come out of retirement to help with the starting of the Stills at Inver House in Scotland when they opened.

It was a cool windy day and for such a small event I had alot of people coming out to ask stuff about Continental Distilling and Kinsey.

Pictures are

1. The Barrel

2. Top of Barrel with donation Placard

3. My setup with some explosion proof light setups

4. More of my setup

5. My Old Hickory Advertising Panel and tax strips I gave to the society

6. Another shot of my table

7. Me with my stuff

8. Me with Al landis on my Left, Al Is Jacob G Kinsey's great nephew and is 91 yrs 8 months old!

Just a note in getting some of my Paper work from the plant together for the show I found some documents talking about the experimental use of White Oak Floaters to be used in barrels in 1962. The company had asked the Government at that time and the Government said no to the request. I will scan some of those papers and post them soon.

Dave Z

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Kinsey The Unhurried Whisky For Unhurried Moments

[dave ziegler]

Tonight I want to post some of my Rare Paper work from Continental Distilling / Kinsey including some stuff from the Government Treasury Dept.

These are just a few of Hundreds of pieces of Paper work I have saved from the plant in the last 5 years.

These are from 1962 through 1971 and cover things like experimental rechared Barrels to slabs being put in ( Floaters made of new chared White Oak ) and the company asking permission to do these experiments and the very tests and how they would do them. I am Lucky enough to have hundreds of differant pieces of paper work for these types of things and will post as many as I can I will let you read what they say and make coments on them. This paper work was in big roll bins in warehouse I, and I saved them to preserve History during the last 5 years.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Niicest People Drink Old hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

One of the very most important things Continental was always trying to do was Make a high standard Product but keep cost at the best possible price.

The first paper I posted on the thread before this one is one of the ways I think they hoped to do it. This was more then two years before Inver House opened and they hoped this using of used barrels in 1962 with Slabs or as we always called them floaters freshly charred would make it possible to reuse barrels. As we all know Continental pettitioned the Government later to ship used Barrels to Scotland to Inver House when it opened in 1965 to be reused there for Scotch and the Government gave approval for them and others that jumped on the band wagon to do it.

But in this paper the Government states that they can't put Whiskey from Bourbon mash in the barrles with floaters.

When I worked for Publicker Industries they were always one step ahead of everyone one else. I found some old Inventory papers listing Ever Clear on them, they were trying everything they could to be inovative.

The hardest part of the bussiness was and is the government, everything you do you have to always ask them first for permission.

And in 1968 second paper We were still doing experiments with Floaters using Corn Whiskey. I remember the floaters well back in 1968 and when Makers mark brought them back as toasted wood to put in whiskey barrels for better flavor the first thing I thought was how many things we paved the way for that are still used or being used again from our many years of research.

I remember being very proud when I would look at the water tower out front and it stated Continental Distilling Corp / Division Of Publicker Industries Linfield Pa

When I was in the yard gang one of our duties was sweeping around all the Dump troughs to keep the dust down so it would not get in the product when dumped. One of the Key things you always kept in your mind was the timing of the barrels going on the trough as if one barrel did not come up perfectly bung down then all of them would be wrong.

That is why My Boss Jack Raysor on the dump gang I worked on got so mad at the EX Army guy in our crew for moving the barrels so straight in line that they all fell at the wrong place to dump. And Jack let him have it and then gave him the nickname Line e'm Up Louie. He did not last there long and I remember Jack blowing a gasket at him. We then all callled him that nickname it stuck.

The years I worked there were very exciting to be there with all the inovations and the amazing 1966 Bottle house, people from all over the world came there to tour it. Publicker was everything a Fortune 500 Company should be back then with Si Neuman running it!

Dave Z

==================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

I am now going to post the other 3 Pictures at Publicker in Phila that my Friend Butch sent me. These are one of a kind rare pictures I hope everyone enjoys them and also look at the 2 pictures I posted on the Bottle House thread This morning of the Old Snyder Ave Bottle House.

1. This is a picture of Dsp-Pa. 1 The Snyder Ave Still Building taken after It was completed in 1934. They had a giant still on the far end of the plant for Industrial distilling also.

2. Publicker celebrating the 10 millionith bottle of $1.00 whiskey in 1934 The womans name is Pearl Glickman

3. Taste Test in 1939 at the Snyder Ave Distillery

It is my hope for History to get more pictures like this to go with the Kinsey stuff to show how all of us that worked for Publicker had a common goal and that was to make the very Best tasting Spirits of all types at prices the common man could aford.

Mr Neuman was a very Humble and good man who believed in always doing the best you could and buying things you needed to run your plant locally and that every Person was a key part to our Products and the company.

His loss was the end of Kinsey/Continental and Publicker Industries, from the time His Father inlaw Harry Publicker got him running Continental and later all of Publicker till he died the company was a great sucess and number 445 on the Fortune 500 list. When He died the company died.

I found this Old Kinsey Saying On one of my Kinsey / Continental Distilling drink making brosures and it has become a favorite I have used it lately but wanted to High light it today

( The Best Old Fashioneds

Are You'll Find

The Mellow Made With Kinsey Kind )

After Publicker bought Kinsey the Kinsey Blended Whiskey name was found on the Building the Ball drops in times square on New Years eve for a while in the 1940's a tribute to Jake Kinsey and Kinsey Blended Whiskey which was a very big seller in new York City back in the day!

(Just a note again to take a look at the two rare pictures posted on the Bottle House thread this morning also one of the old Bigler Bottle line in 1933 with dixie Belle gin on the line and another of the building in 1934) also I will be posting 5 more rare Plant pictures from Publicker later this week I just recieved from Butch including a picture of the Fermantation tanks and Quality control among them

Dave Z

[Jono]

Very interesting information Dave! I did not realize how much the BATF had to sign off on almost everything. At least then, the responses were "relatively" quick....6 weeks or so.

[dave ziegler]

Jono those are just a few of many old papers I will be posting soon. Everything they wanted to do they had to talk and write to the BATF and ask first and wait to hear. Today I am posting some more of the Publicker Phila pictures Butch has sent me and they are

1. The Gin room at the Snyder Ave Distillery about 1934.

2. Fermentation Tanks at Snyder Ave 1939

3. Chemist checking Temps At the Snyder Avenue Distiller

4. Young Lady year 1935 Checking Quality ( Quality Control )

5. Swinging Fermentation Tanks in 1936 Snyder Ave.

To me these are just awesome having worked for Publicker and never having seen the Big plant in Phila. Also I was inlighten to the fact that before the Bigler Street Bottle house there was an old one that was at Snyder Ave. It was there first, then Bigler and finally The Big one at Kinsey in 1966. I also have something neat to post the next time.

Butch sent me some pictures of a couple of Old Publicker Buildings still standing in Phila he took pictures of. They are being used for something else now and I will post them here soon.

Butch said the old Gin room was shut down in the 1960's, also the fermentation tanks were not being used they had another set somewhere in the plant he said he walked through that room at least a thousand times in his years there. He is going to try and find a picture of the Famous Old Hickory Neon Sign that you would always see going over the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Dave Z

====================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[Jono]

I see the makings of a company history book for sale in the local museum etc.

[dave ziegler]

Today I am thinking about our top 3 Bourbon Brands.

1. Old Hickory 80,86, and BIB

2. County Fair Straight BIB 100 proof

3. Charter Oak 80, 86 and BIB.

These were the finest Bourbons you could buy back in those days and at amazingly low prices even for then. One of our goals was to always price even Our Best Old Hickory BIB and 20 yr old anivarsary Old Hickory at a price the regular person could afford. Which most likely is why it so hard to find any Old Bottles. It was so good and people could afford it so they bought and drank it all up.

It is now 31 years since we made Old Hickory and I have my doubts I will ever find anymore I still have a little bit of 86- proof 10 yr old but it may be the last I ever drink. So if you find some by luck enjoy it because you will be drinking the finest Bourbon money can buy for flavor and quality.

Our Products till Mr Neuman died were the best at the right price Something He belived in very much a quality product at a price people could afford.

Our County Fair which I have some old BIB 100 of is out of this world good but very differant from Old Hickory they each had their own Mash Bills and had very differant Flavor profiles.

I never Had Our Charter Oak Boubons but from what I have been told it had its own profile too, which was shared I think with our Doughertys Bourbons.

We had at least 150 brands of Spirits and they were all well made and to suit all types of Tastes. For those who are to young I wish you could have had some of our Stuff. To those who did you enjoyed some fine whiskey back in the day!

Dave Z

========-----------============----------

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Well here I am back on again been having some asthma trouble with the high heat here and also having gone two days this weekend to the Antique truck show near here lots of Vintage semi's.

I am as I write I am having shot of the last of my Old Hickory 86 Proof 10 yr Bourbon and as always it is wonderful. I some times get e mails from people who have found some vintage Old hickory and they always love it!

Our Whiskey's were some of the Best ever made back in the day. They just have a flavor that is so differant from todays products. I always loved the smell going into the warehouses and also the smell in the air from the Big bottle House. Last Night I drank some of Our Famous back in the day Peanut Lolita Liquor mixed with Scotch to make our drink called an Endinburg Exspress.

All these years and I still feel sad and can hardly believe what has Happen to Kinsey. I am hoping next month to meet my friend who was high up boss for Publicker. I remember on hot days like today we would stay in the the warehouses and roll dice I can remember going from .50 to $50. only to lose it all back!

The warehouses were wonderful in the heat nice and cool with that wonderful aging Whiskey smell. Every now and then someone from the bottle House would get us new 1/2 Pint flasks to fill from the barrels.

Working for Continental was great and I love the old Place so writting is a work of Love for the Place place. Kinsey was if not the Most beautiful Distillery ever one of the top 2 or 3.

No weeds ever grew in the grass and we had beautiful flowers beds it was a real show place to work. At the time I worked there we belonged to the Old AFL CIO Brewery workers Union and the Union and the Company had a great relationship back in those days. We all worked toward making the best Whiskeys ever made. I will be going back to Kinsey for more Pictures when the weather cools down. There is always something new to take pictures of. When I am there I remember Shorty Tyson ( Harrison Tyson ) Eagle Beak ( Warren Eschbach ), and many other old long gone friends there.

Dave Z

================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

This is one of my Favorite memories of Working at Kinsey? I well remember watching the Old timers marking out where they hid their Pints of Whiskey in differant warehouses so they could always have a shot when they wanted it.

Some guys would hide it inbetween the racks and count how many steps to the rack they hid it in. Some guys would stick them inbetween the housings for the heating and cooling systems in the warehouses.

Anywhere they could stick one they did and marked somewhere the place they put it. And nothing would get them more mad then if someone found it and took it or if somehow they forgot where it was.

Every Morning Old Bonda would come in early and fill bottles and then put some in differant places and he always had some under the seat of his 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook.

Bonda was the traffic director at Kinsey and He only got his whiskeys from the Old Warehouses, He knew where the very best stuff was and you would see him early every morning filling his bottles.

One time many years back not I found two 1/2 Pints of Good Scotch in the wall of one of the Old fallen down buildings and I drank one and still have one.

I gave my friend JD in marketing a shot and a 1/2 of the Last of My Old Hickory 86 Proof. He saved it for Fathers day and told me today it was the best Whiskey He ever had being a young guy! He also said He has his Molls friends in other states looking in old time stores in other cities for more!

I say it now and always will to Me Old Hickory was one of the all time Best Bourbons ever made.

I was very Lucky when I was young to work for Continental And proud of Our Products.

Dave Z

===================================================

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[Jono]

Dave, time to start using an eye dropper for the Old Hickory!

[dave ziegler]

Jono I always seem to find some Old Hickory when all seems lost! It has been too hot to go to Kinsey and we have not had any rain for almost 2 months here. But I am today remembering all the old cars and trucks we had driving around at Kinsey.

If you had an old worn out car or truck that still ran ok Kinsey would buy it as the place was so big you needed one to get from one end to the other. All company men had a junker to drive.

I remember we had 3 old 1941 Ford Flat trucks, Bonda had a 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, Mike Zuno drove a 1953 Dodge Truck to take us from warehouse to warehouse. There was an old 1954 Caddie with half the body cut off made into a pickup.

There also was an old Desoto and the Yard gangs 1946 Blue ford Pickup.

Cars and trucks were running around continueously. They filled up next to the back of the old maintaince barn out front behind the Old Kinsey bottle house there was a Sinclair Dino Pump.

When we hauled the racks we cut out of the Warehouses we used an old farm wagon and an old Ford 8-N tractor.

It was fun just seeing all the old cars and trucks running around. Days went fast you no sooner started and you were out of time. The cool breezes from the river made the air nice and the warehouses were always cool.

The Guards had an old Jeep they would do their rounds in and there were lights all around the plant for them at night. To this day I still find myself looking for lights at night when I go past the plant in the dark hours.

I can still remember the Front water tower lit up at night saying Continental Distilling Linfield Pa Division of Publicker Ind.

If you worked there when I did you would understand the last thing any of us ever thought was the the company would be gone. People who lived near Kinsey loved the place because it was kept perfect and many people in Linfield lived near the plant and walked to work. When I got my job in fall 1966 I was thrilled at the chance. Kinsey Distillery paid well and they were good neighbors to the people who lived in Linfield.

Dave Z

==========================================================

It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[Jono]

Dave, as I asked on another thread re KY distillers....were there any / many minority employees at Kinsey? Just curious, it is an industry that seems to have always been white..for understandable historical development reasons and I assume sometimes location. Maybe the Philly location had more than where you worked (not knowing if there were many African Americans in your area of PA).

[dave ziegler]

Here are some of the shots from both camera's in warehouse R from Saturday.

1. The Main switch box on the first floor stair well warehouse R

2. The same box at home for restoring in color.

3. Barrel filler from warehouse O saved from vandels destroying it by me when I found it loose.

4. Kulov Vodka boxes never used rotting

5. Piles of Brand new brand boxes never used falling down and an old B-61 mack truck motor from one of the company trucks motors have had parts stolen from through the years.

6. Sandie that woorked in the bottling house must have wrote here when she was in the warehouses in 1981 hope she see's this. Was on the front barrel elevator in warehouse R

7. Warehouse R outside in Black and white

8. Brand new Kinsey Whiskey Cases never used.

9. Haller's Slo Gin cases all filled with never used brand new bottles

10.Roll door at back of R warehouse across from Back Elevator sign says

DSP-Pa.12 room G

11. Back Elevator

12. cases that say Publicker Distiller's they used this name at the end of making spirits late 1970's.

13&14. Front and back of a Bourbon Supreme case Continental Distilling owned the Bourbon Supreme brand and many other American Distilling brands after American Distilling went to making Gasohol!

Every time I go to Kinsey I try my best to get you good shots to show how it was back in the day. It is my Hope I have captured the spirit of Kinsey/Continental Distilling/ and Publicker on these Pictures and what a joy it was to work for them.

Dave Z.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[sandiefett]

Yes, Dave, I sure do remember very well writing my name on the wall. I was working with the guys in the warehouse dumping barrels. The whiskey had been sold and we were getting it ready ship to the customers. That one pix, alone, brought back many memories. When we were bottling the cordials in "Happy House" I do not remember doing much of the blackberry but I remember the Slo Gin. There were more bottles leaving the premises in private cars than there were bottles in cases. It was very good stuff!! Thanks for the memories.:grin:

[dave ziegler]

Glad you saw that Sandie and the other pictures not too many of us Kinsey workers around anymore.

here are 11 more pictures in Black & White of the bottle House and the plant.

1. Walking into Kinsey 3 weeks ago

2. The Old Bottling House Lunch Room chairs stacked on tables waiting to come down for a day that never came to be

3. Whiskey Heater on Back Platform

4. This is an Old Bottle Blowing machine sitting in Room A once the bottles left the room they traveled into room B to be filled, Labeled and packaged. This machine cleaned bottles before they were filled

5. & 6. The Old Safey Quality sign in front of the Lab and Lunch room.

7.Old Vending Machine in Bottle House Lunch room

8. Old Electric Motors and Line back tank area

9. & 10. Water Surge Tanks on back Tank Platform

11. Cases of 1/10 Inver House Mini Bottles / Old 750 ml Lolita Liquor Bottles sitting on top of some cases.

Heres some more memory Pictures for you Sandie, as I am sure the area's in the Bottle House are more known to you then they are to me since all the years you worked in there.

When I get there I always try my best to capture what it was like to be there back in the day and how sad it is today.

I sadly never had the Continental Blackberry Brandy or the Slo Gin but I have been told by some others that the Blackberry Brandy was the best ever made and I know my Peanut Liquor is the best tasting Liqour I ever drank.

What a shame that things went the way they did, If Only Mr Neuman had not died so suddenly who knows the place might still be operating and even have a new DSP-pa-12 there. There were many stories about that happening when I worked there. Stories that they would close the spirits still in Phila and build a new one in Linfield.

Sadly Life takes turns you do not expect and places like Kinsey Die just like People do.

But It Will Stay In My Heart as Long as I am around

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Best Old Fashioneds Are, You'll Find

The Mellow, Made With Kinsey Kind!

Dave Z

[dave ziegler]

Good news on my quest to post as much as I can about Publicker. The man I have been waiting to meet who worked most of his life at Publicker as a top person has arrived in Pa from Ca. and I am waiting to meet with him very soon. I also have some more information that will be coming my way from someone who's Father worked for Publicker for 27 years and hope to get Pictures and much insight into the Company from other people. This is a most exciting time for me and I will ask all I can about All the plants and historic distilling things I can get. I also have a few more pictures I can post and if it rains Sunday I may get to Kinsey this weekend. They are calling for a chance of rain.

One of the top things I want to find out about is the mid 1940's when they were building the explosion proof warehouses and the top guy knows a lot about that!

Dave Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most magnificent Bourbon

[Luna56]

Great news, Dave. This trip down memory lane is always a treat. Looking forward to hearing what you've learned.

Cheers!

[dave ziegler]

I resently saw something that brought back tons of memories to me, a brass barrel labeling Head stencil. I also may end up owning it which would be a dream come true to me.

The one I saw was DSP-Pa-1 Continental Distilling and the fill date was 1945. I remember well stenciling the barrel heads with indelabel ink. what a mess, you had better do as told and wear gloves or your hands would end up black ink colored.

We used two types of of brushes to ink the heads a round brisol one and a rolling one. What a night mare doing hundreds of barrels this way you would pour the ink into the handle of the brush and screw the cap on and alot of time the dam thing would leak ink all over the place, but the stencils for the most part worked great. Being they were metal their weight helped them stay in place.

When done you would have information written that would last such as on mine and Frickys Barrels which has the original labeling under 4 coats of schlack.

It was not one of the jobs I liked but I loved the old Brass stencils!

I also resently saw a bottle of Charter Oak Blended Bourbon it was a blend of different years of aging Bourbons. I hope to get that also.

When we were filling barrels at O building we would have a Government Man there with us and as soon as the barrel was filled it was bunged and flipped up and the top head was labeled with one of these brass Head stencils.

Then it would be hauled by one of the old 1941 Ford flat trucks to one of the explosion proof Warehouses to be put in the racks to age!

That was hard work and many times there were a couple of people doing each job. The best part was the awesome whiskey smell when doing this. We had around 3 sets of hoses with gasoline type handles like the one I posted a picture of on one of the threads not long ago.

All the barrels were done in lot numbers with small stencils after the big stenciling was done.

Then the barrels would be racked so they could sleep and age to be one of our Whiskys. County Fair Had 10 and 4 year, and Old Hickory had 6 yr,10 yr. and 20 year. Each of these two Brands had their own mash bill not used by any of our other brands. In speaking to my Friend from the company he told me our 380 gallon Whiskey barrels were written about in fortune 500 magazine back in the day.

I soon hope to have more pictures and alot of interesting Info abput Continental Distilling.

( The Best Old fashioneds Are, You'll Find The mellow, made With Kinsey Kind!

Dave Z