An Analysis of the Industrialization of the Bourbon Industry in Kentucky: 1870s-Prohibition

Summary

Bourbon has been distilled in Kentucky throughout the state’s history and has influenced how cities in Kentucky have grown over time. Throughout the 1870s, a major rise in the number of distilleries in the state grew as wealthy patrons began buying up small, family-run distilleries and expanding them into a large-scale, booming industry that aimed to answer the demand for bourbon throughout the US. In order to fit the demand, bourbon barons began crafting ways to make more gallons per day, allow for consistency in flavor during aging from barrel to barrel, permit production to occur at a year-round basis, and ensure that customers would be consuming safe liquor. This poster presents some of the archaeological and historical evidence of innovations that allowed for the industrialization of the industry by looking at the Old Fire Copper (OFC) Distillery site, the R.P. Drake (later Turner Springs) Distillery site, and the Eagle (later Green River) Distillery site. Particular attention will be paid to how the sites adapted to the Prohibition period in the state of Kentucky and the US.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21779