Uisce Beatha
Water of Life
Whiskey, has been around since monks brought the art/knowledge of distillation to the UK in the 1100’s. These monks were used to making sacramental wine in their homeland. However, due to the climate of the UK there were no grapes to be harvested. Therefore, they switched to distilling grains like barley, initially creating beer then moving forward to what we know today as Whiskey!
The first written record of whiskey was in the 1400’s where Irish clerics decreed whiskey, “Uisce Beatha”, or the “water of life”. Whiskey was used as an internal anesthetic and an antibiotic for wounds. We’ve all seen the movies, someone takes an arrow or a bullet and they begin pouring/drinking ample amounts of whiskey to ease their pain and disinfect the wound. There is a saying, “What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.” Rough day at the office? Whiskey. Weather giving you chills? Whiskey. Lose a leg? Whiskey. Dog up and left you? Whiskey! I think that covered the bases. I know it’s helped me on the occasional Monday.
Whiskey moved to the general public once Henry the 8th, dissolved the catholic monasteries and created the church of England. The more industrious citizens started making their own stills and selling the spirit. The oldest licensed distillery is Old Bushmills distillery in Ireland. It began in 1608 and they still have a range of blends and single malts being produced today. Then, In the 1700’s the “Acts of Union”, which joined England and Scotland, England enacted the “English Malt Tax of 1725”. The taxation put such a strain on the distilleries they had to go underground and create their spirits at night giving birth to “Moonshine”. In 1823 the UK ended the high taxation of whiskey and allowed distilling licenses for a fee. This signaled an end to moonshine in the UK. However, moonshine in America has continued on, sometimes being romanticized in movies and tv.
Whiskey made its way to the Americas where it became a sort of currency to buy goods or even land. The earliest licensed American whiskey is Evan Williams established in 1783. American whiskey also had their fair share of taxation, mainly to pay for the revolutionary war. The “Whiskey Tax” was placed on any distilled spirits domestically produced. This was hard on the grain farmers as they had gotten used to selling their own spirits from the extra unsold grains. They rebelled to the point of violence during a time dubbed the “Whiskey rebellion”. The rebellion came to a head when a mob of protestors killed a tax collector attempting to collect on their moonshine sales. Washington responded by sending a militia force 13,000 strong to confront the protesters, who quickly disbanded before the militia could arrive. Whiskey was worth living for but maybe not worth dying for.
Blended whiskey first appeared in 1850 with quite a bit of backlash. However, most mass produced whiskey’s you’ve tasted, are blends, along with >90% of all consumed whiskeys. There was much debate if this was blasphemous or not, but in order to guarantee similar yet complex flavor from bottle to bottle, it was necessary.
In the 1840s Bourbon whiskey made it’s appearance. There are many ideas on how bourbon got its name but, my favorite starts with Jacob Spears. Jacob owned one of the 128 distilleries in Bourbon County, he would load his clear whiskey into barrels to ship down river to New Orleans. Due to the heat and time, the whiskey would pick up some characteristics of the wood such as flavor and the signature brown color. It was a hit! Smoother and more flavorful than any other whiskey available in New Orleans, those in the know would order “a bourbon”.
Alcohol was big business in the US but as we have always done, we allowed the loudest minority to demand and create new laws banning the sell and consumption of all alcohol. This was known as Prohibition and lasted from 1920 to 1933. I can’t go even a week without a drink. Prohibition produced the opposite effect as consumption actually rose during this time. This also gave rise to the “Speakeasy” and the “Cocktail”. Speakeasy’s were somewhat secretive bars/clubs where civilians, celebrities and some public officers found refuge from the harsh laws placed on the country. Some of my favorite cocktail recipes were created in speakeasy’s during this era such as the Manhattan, whiskey sour, and my absolute favorite, the “old-fashoned”. While these recipes have change a bit in the last century they still encompass the original building blocks of The art of cocktails.
Whiskey has had quite a journey from monks to mom’n’pops and mass production. We had to fight every step of the way to keep our favorite spirits on the shelves and in our homes. Now we get to enjoy so many styles from countries around the world with their own take on the spirit of Whiskey. Sláinte, Cheers!
