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My Memories of Kinsey Distilling


dave ziegler

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Here are some more historic Pictures gotten from my Friend Butch who worked at the Publicker Plant for 10 yrs.

So Here we go back into History and not Just History but the History of the Greatest Distiller in History In Pa.

1. The Famous DR Carl Haner in His Snyder Avenue Laboratory in 1933. He claimed He could make 17 yr old Whiskey in 24 hrs with his process? However no whiskey ever marked quick overnight aged was ever marked on any bottles.

2. Snyder Ave Bottling Plant Empoyee Margaret Kane displaying several bottles of Sweepstakes whiskey at the same time displacying her Irish sweepsatkes tickets for a 150,000.00 prize she hoped she would win Oct 29 1934.

3. Only the second Picture I have ever seen of WA Hallers and Sons Distilling Plant Nov 29, 1949. I have the one different Picture given to me from my friend in Marketing!

4. Picture of Hallers County Fair Bourbon on a Billboard and bottom closeup of the Billboard 1950.

5. Publicker Barrel Warehouse at Swanson & Delaware Avenues Aug 17 1949 Note semi trailers on company lot say Kinsey Whisky.

6. The Biger Street Chemical Plant in 1935, you can see one of our Paco tanker ships getting loaded!

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Many Thanks to Butch for these exciting Pictures especialy the Rare one the the W A Hallers Distillery it is the only one besides the One I have that I have ever seen. Dr Haner made quite a Splash back in the 1930's after Prohibition ended but nothing ever came of quick aged whiskys. Also back in the early 1930's our Sweepstakes straight Whisky was very popular. Those Kinsey trailers in the warehouse picture are the first I have ever seen but Kinsey Whisky was a big seller in NY especaily NY City. It was as far as I know our only brand ever to be on the Times square ball drop building in the 1930's.

Dave Z

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Kinsey The Unhurried Whisky For Unhurried Moments

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Edited by dave ziegler
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Here are some more product pictures gotten from my Buddy Butch.

1. Invenver House Scotch Ad for Racing sponsered by Inver House. I have in my collection a old pocket Calendar for 1968 American Road racing Sponsered by Inver House I also have a race winning wooden hang up.

2. Glen Mavis Scotch which I can say I once bought a bottle of on Line and found it a nice Scotch.

3. Cold Stream British Gin a big seller for Continental they had a Distillery in Eourope where they made it.

I once had a 1/2 Pint of Cold Stream Scotch and found it delightful. I am looking forward to cooler weather so I can go back to visit Kinsey again.

Dave Z

Inver House Imported Rare Scotch ( Soft as a Kiss )

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Dave,

I never drank Inver House (I was too young) but I recall the brand. Was it nationally distributed? I live in Indiana and my grandfather drank scotch.

I believe you have said that you liked Old Hickory? Did you have any other favorites?

mbroo

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Yes mbroo588i it was distributed Nationaly, we had a bottle house out in Lemont IL. The ads through the years named all kinds of Places they would say Inver is in Indiana, or Ohio or France! For being a blended Scotch it was a nice drink! Had a few in my time.

Yes Old Hickory was my Bourbon of Choice, But I also enjoyed Hallers County Fair BIB. And I enjoyed Governors Club Blended also.

Dave Z

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Soft As A Kiss

Invers in Indiana!

Edited by dave ziegler
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Haller's County Fair BIB is one dusty I would really like to get my hands on. A six year old BIB made back when.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes Squire it is an awesome Pour I was lucky enough to have had a couple of bottles a couple of years ago!

I aways hope to find Old hickory each time my Birthday comes up just for the pleasure of an old fashioned Bourbon made the way Whiskey should be.

Here are 3 more pictures posted here, I posted some pictures on each of my 3 threads today.

1. An ad for Old Hickory Bourbon

2. A tank Car sitting at Bigler street Plant in the 1960's

3. A billboard for Embassy Club Canadian Whiskey 1960's / This is a vbery good Whiskey I once a few years ago was given 5 Bottles they have all departed fast!

Dave Z

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Kinsey The Unhurried Whiskey For Unhurried Moments

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just got some More pictures of the Philadelphia Publicker Plant from back in the Day,from My Friend Butch who worked there!

1. The Bigler Street Still House in 1939

2. One Of 3 Bigler Street Chemical Plants in 1939. They made Butyl Acetete,Butyl Chloirides,Butyl Alcohol and much more.

3. One of the Bigler Street Chemical Plants on April 11. 1992 after an Arsonist set the Abandoned Plant on fire.

4. Here is another Picture of the Old Snyder Ave Still house in 1939.

So sad to Know this once Great Company is no More, For Many Years 5,000 People worked for them Myself being one of them I learned my Work ethic working at Kinsey! A hard days work for a Good Fair Pay!

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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Just got some More pictures of the Philadelphia Publicker Plant from back in the Day,from My Friend Butch who worked there!

1. The Bigler Street Still House in 1939 DSP-PA -1

2. One Of 3 Bigler Street Chemical Plants in 1939. They made Butyl Acetete,Butyl Chloirides,Butyl Alcohol and much more.

3. One of the Bigler Street Chemical Plants on April 11. 1992 after an Arsonist set the Abandoned Plant on fire.

4. Here is another Picture of the Old Snyder Ave Still house in 1939. DSP-PA-1-B

So sad to Know this once Great Company is no More, For Many Years 5,000 People worked for them Myself being one of them I learned my Work ethic working at Kinsey! A hard days work for a Good Fair Pay!

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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  • 1 month later...

Well here are some new Pictures I got from Butch of the Philadelphia Plant of Publicker Industries/Continental Distilling! Picture two is A news Paper article from the old Warren county news paper the Warren Times reporting the opening of the worlds Largest Distillery Continental Distilling in May of 1934 at Swanson and Snyder Avenue, in Philadelphia. Picture three is Publicker Paco Products and Chemical Plant #1 that produced there ingridients at the Bigler street Facility. Picture one is the Snyder Avenue Still in 1941 the steam is coming from the still house! Dave Z It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory, America's Most Magnificent Bourbon. PS. had to change the numbers around as the pictures loaded different then I placed them.

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Edited by dave ziegler
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Winter is apon us and I mine goes back to the Good Old Days, driving My 167 Buick GS 400/425 HP 3/4 Race Cam to Kinsey every day. It was the Nicest Car I ever owned and It was because of the good Money I made there I was able to buy it!

so Here is a Picture Of spOOky as I had written on it this way on the car and front Plate had eye balls in the center of the O's.

1. The Buick GS 400 only 2,280 of these 4 speed Buicks were made in 167 in the Hard top model

2. The Plate with Spooky done special for me by a friend who did grafic art. Got the Name from the Song Spooky by the Classics Four used to get some Gears when that song came on!

3. A Old Time Picture of the Early Kinsey Plant in Color and even years later when I worked there those Old buildings l;oooked that way in the Sun in the Morning coming in.

I would gert in early To Watch Charlie Sipler burn out with His Model A frame buggy with a 100 HP Falthead ford to Power it. He had a living room Chair bolted on it to sit and a cheap metal chair for a Passenger. Also a wooden bed in back. He told Dicky Pfiefer when He was getting it made I want plenty of Power, and He would come out of the Grain drying building Hit second gear slide around the silo and hit 3rd gear on the road into the plant every morning with his pipe in his mouth. For a 19 yr old Kid it was awesome watching him take off.

Also Old Bonda Would be in the Old Warehouses Filling his 1/2 Pint whisky Bottles for that day. Bonda always got his whisky from the old Kinsey warehouse where the Real good old stuff was back then!

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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Join the Swing To Kinsey

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Edited by dave ziegler
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  • 4 weeks later...

They had rail service from the Reading and the Pennsylvania (Later Penn Central) via opposite ends of the plant.

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Thanks Ethan, the Reading came in on a bridge over the river and the Pennsylvania came in from the front of the plant the Pennsylvania lines are still used but the spur into the plant is long gone! Just got off the phone from talking to Joe Trish's daughter. Joe was the top engineer for Publicker Industries and designed 95 % of the things built at Philadelphia,Scotland and Lindfield Pa and also Lemont IL.

I hope to take her to visit Ludy Sometime soon as he was a good friend of Joes. Dave Z It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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Jono full Barrels came in from Phila and full cases of Whiskey left the Plant by box car also! During the months of Oct and Nov till mid Dec Whiskey for the Holidays was flowing out of the Plant by Truck and Box car. The Bottling house Docks could handle 3 box cars and at least 10 trucks at the same time as the Dock ran the full two Football fields length of the Building.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Dave,

Just wanted to say - I've read this thread over twice, all 99 posts of it. Every single one. And some of your side-threads as well. This really is a great piece of history. I wish you didn't have to drive truck for so many years on a job you didn't love (by the way, I have a big respect for truckers and all that they do), but at least you had the Kinsey years. And I thank you for preserving the history none of us would know about otherwise. Everything you've preserved makes me appreciate what came before me. Take care, and God bless.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you Fangzilla for your Kind words have been not feeling great but better now and going to start posting again. I am glad for that first job at Kinsey and the one I have now as a company Mailman. Here are Pictures two which I posted years ago, and two new ones.

1. Year was 1936 and this was the Snyder Ave Still, DSP-Pa 1 It was later replaced by the Bigler Street DSP-Pa 1-B still.

2.This was the stair case in the Old Kinsey DSP-10 Rye Barn building which was torn down to get at the Fire started by Lightening in 2012. The part of the Stair that says Kinsey #10 Rye Building was cut off the stair a year before the fire for me by friends and it is safely in my Garage and did not burn up.

3. This is a picture of the Glen Flager Distillery in Scotland the year was 1965. I got this from my friend Butch who worked in Phila at Publicker.

4. An Old Match Pack Ad for Kinsey Whiskey.

I hope to write in all 3 of my Threads today and post pictures in all of them.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent bourbon

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Dave, I was wondering how you were doing. Happy New Year 2014! Glad to see you back posting again. That matchbook is a classic. A glass of whiskey and a comfortable chair will never go out of style, even if matchbooks have.

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Fangzilla I am very lucky to own a match book like that in my collection. I have spent many years getting things to preserve for the History of Kinsey and Publicker and I hope to do a lot more posting in the future! Thanks again for the kind words. Back in 2007 after I almost died I made my mind up I was going to cover as much History about the company as I could and I have lots of stuff yet just got to spend time posting it.

Dave Z

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Join The Swing To Kinsey

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Today was a great day for me as I got a call at lunch time in my Office from a Man who is part of a group that is Bringing The Old HicKory Whiskey brand Name back. We talked about the Brand and They Hope some day to bring it back for sale to Pa their web site is

www.oldhickorywhiskey.com

It will be a hand crafted Whiskey and will be bottled in Nashville Tenn! I am so glad that someone is going to market it in a quality Product and look forward havin someg one Day!

It has been so many years since it left us and They bought the name because of Andrew Jackson ( Old Hickory ) coming from Tenn and it is being bottled not far from his home. I am very Happy and enjoyed talking to the Man from Lipman Brands I had e mailed them and here it is a day Later they called me.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

Edited by dave ziegler
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I wonder if they will try to recreate the original mash bill for at least one of the products? I guess we will have to wait and see.

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Very interesting indeed. As Jono says, the first question is, have they bought the original recipe as well? If they just bought the name, and not the recipe for Old Hickory, I suspect it will be a disappointment. Especially for Dave, who remembers very well what OH is supposed to taste like.

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Well here is the Bottle sent to me from them after talking to a member of the RS Lipman Company! It was bottled in Bardstown KY. And says Old Hickory Great American Whiskey 100% American Grains. Blended Bourbon Whiskey! I will give it a try once I sign out. I had talked to them late last week about our Old Hickory and they wanted to thank me by giving me a bottle. I expect it will be totally different from ours but I think from what they told me it is going to be a good pour!

Just tasted it and I find I to be a very Flavorful Bourbon I think it will sell well n Tenna.

Dave Z

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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory

America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

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Edited by dave ziegler
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That is wonderful Dave! It looks very enticing, hopefully, the have done the label justice. But kudos regardless for them bringing it back

and being so nice to you. Maybe we will see you in advertising! "Hi, I'm Dave Ziegler, and I drink Old Hickory, you should too!"

I did not know much if anything about Lipman's but there website product info is worth a look

http://www.lipmanbrands.com/category/brands/

Hap & Harry’s Beer....hmm, worth a try!

Edited by Jono
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