468. E.H. Taylor's Rule of the Regions
Todd goes solo with Remus Experimental No. 1, Oak Lure Story Series No. 2, a mountain of bourbon news, and a rare 1909 essay by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. read in full.
Tasting Notes
Show Notes
Todd Ritter flies solo this week on The Bourbon Road, holding down the fort while Jim Shannon is out of town. Todd brings the energy with a packed episode featuring a stack of bourbon news, two quality pours, and a special deep dive into history — a newly rediscovered 1909 essay written by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. himself, unearthed from the University of Kentucky archives. It's a fascinating window into the mind of one of bourbon's founding fathers, and a treat for any whiskey history nerd.
On the Tasting Mat:
- Remus Master Distillers Experimental Series No. 1: A 9-year-old, 107-proof bourbon from MGP/Ross & Squibb, aged in lightly charred and heavily toasted Seguin Moreau French cooperage barrels — seasoned outdoors for 24 months before coopering. The nose opens with big vanilla and a subtle wine-like funkiness, with hints of fig and dark baking spices. On the palate it's soft and velvety with toasted marshmallow, chocolate, and a background note of red wine. The finish turns sweeter, offering candied pecan and walnut with a warming allspice kick. Retails for $79.99. (00:02:09)
- Oak Lure Story Series No. 2 — Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Four Grain Bourbon: A blend of 5-to-6-year-old bourbons from Oak Lure out of Matthews, North Carolina, built on a four-grain mash bill of 70% corn, 10% rye, 10% wheat, and 10% malted barley, proofed at 95 and finished in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks for 12–18 months. The color carries a gorgeous ruby tinge. The nose brings raisin, wine notes, caramel, and vanilla. On the palate it's soft and approachable with black cherry, cocoa, a sherry-driven nuttiness, dark fruits, and a sweetness that carries through to the finish. Retails around $49.99–$59.99. (01:18:39)
News highlights this episode include: Los Lantern's Fall 2025 Scotch Lovers Collection launching November 12th; Wyoming Whiskey's Buffalo Bill Cody Bourbon expanding nationwide; Jim Beam's new Hardin's Creek Mushroom, Beaver, and Owl releases; Jack Daniel's Distillery Series No. 15 sweet mash Tennessee whiskey; the full 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection including the brand-new E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond addition; Buffalo Trace's 9-millionth barrel milestone; Chicken Cock's Miller's Reserve American Whiskey; Town Branch's 16-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Single Malt Archive Series Vol. 2; and the big headline — Kirin putting Four Roses Distillery up for sale for approximately $1 billion.
The second half closes with Todd reading Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr.'s remarkable 1909 essay, "The Rule of the Regions," written for the Louisville Times 25th Anniversary Edition — touching on Kentucky water, barrel storage, the Bottled-in-Bond Act, and Taylor's bold claim that the finest Kentucky bourbons outclass Scotch and Irish whiskey. The essay was discovered in the UK archives by friends of author Brian Hara, who is writing a forthcoming book on E.H. Taylor.
Subscribe, leave a review, and join the Bourbon Roadies Facebook group to keep the conversation going. Find Jim and Todd at thebourbonroad.com.
Full Transcript
Oh friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Bourbon Road Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Shannon. And I'm your host, Todd Ritter. We've got a great show for you today. So grab your favorite pour and join us.
Hello friends and welcome to another episode of the Bourbon Road. This is Todd and today I'm flying solo. Jim had to go out of town so I'm just gonna thought today in the first half I'd run through a bunch of bourbon news and I've got a pretty cool sample from a good friend of mine named Jeff Gamel who shared with me recently and then the second half I've got something kind of cool and historic for those history and bourbon nerds out there that I'm going to read through. And I've got another sample from the really fine folks at Oak Lure out of Matthews, North Carolina to dive in for that second half.
So first things first, let's get to the pour.
So what I have in the glass today is Remus Master Distillers Experimental Series number one. So this comes from MGP. It is nine years old, 107 proof, retails for 79.99. And what's unique about this is it was aged in lightly charred and heavily toasted Seguin Moreau barrels. And some of you folks out there may have heard of Seguin Moreau, and it is a French cooperage that is really known for like some of the best wine barrels and barrels, this barrels in general. So the American oak stays for these barrels were seasoned outdoors for an extended period, 24 months before being lightly charred and heavily toasted. This breaks down the harsh tannins is what their goal is with that. So let's dive in. The first thing that pops to my nose is a big whiff of vanilla. And there's like a little bit of like, I don't know, like a wine funkiness to it a little bit. I know I said those usually do like some wine barrels, but yeah, there's a, this is not your typical like oak note, I guess. Maybe a little like fig, dark baking spices. All right. Ready to sip. Cheers. Oh, that's soft and velvety. So the oak really shines through on that little toasted marshmallow chocolate, almost like a literal, yeah, like a little red wine dancing in the background there. Take another sip. Kind of gets a little sweeter on the finish, which is nice. It's like a little like candied pecan, walnut kind of vibe, which is really unique. Some allspice, there's a nice spicy kick at the very tail end of that. And like I said, it's really, it's got a really nice mouthful, very rich. So yeah, I dig that one. Thank you, Jeff Gamble for sharing that with us. All right, let's get to some news. So first things first, our good friends Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polanski at Los Lantern have announced their fall 2025 collection. If you recall, we've gone through their spring collection and their finished collection, and they've been really awesome about sharing some samples of those. So I'm pretty sure we have a set of these coming, but the fall 2025 collection will be the Scotch lovers collection. This collection focuses on traditional, on the traditional side whiskeys that people enjoy scotch as much as they do will fall in love with. It's launching Wednesday, November 12th. It includes two blends of American single malt and five single cask. The flagship of the collection is the American batted malt remix. So that's one of the first things they did five years ago. They did kind of a combined, um, took some single moths from a bunch of different states and made a blend out of it. So that's kind of what that is. So they've also got an American vatted malt reissue, which I think is using the distilleries that they used in the first iteration of that five years ago, they're going to put in the reissue. And then the single caskauer as follows. There's a Warfield single malt, which they're out of Idaho. That's a new one to me. There is a triple eight peated Massachusetts single malt, a triple eight 10 year old Massachusetts single malt. a triple eight, 11 year old Massachusetts single malt that Saturn's aged. And lastly is a McCarthy's 10 year old peated Oregon single malt. So there's a couple of things for you, you know, those, you don't like the peated side of single malts, but I think there's, I'm very excited about those. Cause you know, I like peated, Jim likes peated and we all like the single malts. And in fact, I'm pretty sure the malt amigos will be riding again soon because we've got some, uh, Couple things we need to review and go through and it's just fun to get together with AMSE and Mr. Rob Carter and try through some single months on occasion. Alright, next in the news. Wyoming Whiskey is proud to announce the nationwide release of Buffalo Bill Cody, a limited edition bourbon crafted in honor of one of the westmost enduring legends. So if you recall, this was originally released in June of 2025 and we got a sample of it and we were really floored. It was really, really good. I think it even won the day kind of. Now the Buffalo Bill Cody is now expanding to select markets nationwide. So bourbon is crafted in Wyoming and distilled, aged, and bottled in Kirby, Wyoming. The original release that Jim and I reviewed was 48.5 alcohol by volume. So that was 99 proof. The Nationwide release is only going to be 96 proof, it looks like. Look for that one. Be on the show starting this fall in select markets, including Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, Maine, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New York, Florida, and Colorado. So be on the lookout for that one. All right. Our fine friends down the way in Bardstown, Jameem have released a new trio of New Hardin's Creek releases called The Mushroom, Beaver and Owl, They all come from individual warehouses located in Claremont, Kentucky. All are 11 years old and 110 proof for the suggested retail price of $149.99. I was lucky enough to pick up a set of these and we actually got some samples of these. So we'll be reviewing these very, very soon. So be on the lookout. So the mushroom is made up of one single floor, warehouse R, which is uniquely close to the earth and with no windows for sunlight to pour in, it's as cool and dark as an underside of a fallen log, is what they say. The beaver comes from warehouse W that has sat sturdy in its creekside location for almost a century. Its dense five-floor construction is enveloped in the humidity in the surrounding area. And then lastly, at nine floors high and home to the barrels that made up the Owl, warehouse G is a rarity as warehouses are no longer built so tall. Ours is one of the few standing relics that enjoys such a towering view. So be on the lookout for those. Those will be hitting nationwide very soon. From my friends in Tennessee, the Jack Daniels Distillery has today introduced its Distillery Series Selection Number 15. And unlike most times, this is a sweet mash Tennessee straight whiskey. Typically, you see Tennessee sire mash. So this one's a sweet mash. It's aged nearly nine years on top barrel house floors. It's limited edition, high proof release is the latest in the brand's experimental line. Available exclusively in Tennessee and at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop in Lynchburg. MSRP is $49.99 for a 375 milliliter bottle. It's made from Jack Daniel's traditional Tennessee whiskey grain bill, but the release is a nod to the sweet mash process that takes place at the start of each distilling season. It's borrowed 117 proof. The result is a rich Tennessee whiskey with notes of butterscotch, pecan, berry, and caramel. All right, some news from, I guess, my neighbors. This fall, Buffalo Trace Distillery proudly celebrates the 25th release of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, aka BTAC, with its first new addition in nearly two decades, the Colonel E.H. Taylor Baldwin Bond Bourbon. So first introduced in 2000, the Antique Collection honors Buffalo Trace Distillery's historic whiskey brands and the visionaries behind them, offering enthusiasts some of the world's most sought after releases each year. Alongside the new expression are the collections five celebrated staples, Eagle Rare 17 year old Kentucky straight bourbon, George T. Stagg Kentucky straight bourbon, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky straight rye whiskey, Sazerac 18 year old Kentucky straight rye whiskey, and lastly, William LaRue Weller Kentucky straight bourbon. So here's a little info on some of those releases. The E.H. Taylor Bottled and Bond Berman is the first new addition to the Buffalo Trace NT collection since Thomas H. Handy joined the portfolio in 2006. So this release will be 15 years and four months old and hand-bottled at a Hunter & Prove to meet the bottled and bond standards. This whiskey is crafted from Buffalo Trace's sire mash recipe. That's pretty impressive. A 15 year and four month bottled and bond. Secondly, Eagle Rare, 17 year old Kentucky straight bourbon, bottled a 101 proof in recognition of the original Eagle Rare brand launched in 1975. I believe that was at Four Roses, the printest distillery. The Buffalo Trace distillers hand selected their finest barrels to craft this exceptional whiskey. So it's aged beyond 17 years actually, even though that's what's on the label saying it's matured 18 years and four months. Next, and probably the most highly sought after, George T. Stagg, Kentucky straight bourbon, is named in honor of the whiskey pioneer George T. Stagg, who acquired the historic OFC distillery from Colonel E. H. Taylor in 1878. This powerhouse bourbon embodies its legacy of boldness and vision before taking the helm of what is now Buffalo Trace Distillery. Stagg had built a reputation as a successful whiskey salesman, and today his name graces the boldest expression in the antique collection. First introduced in 2002 to meet growing demand for well-aged barrel-strength bourbon, this year's George T. Stagg Bourbon was drawn from barrels aged more than 15 years and four months. The 2025 release is one of the strongest ever, followed at 142.8 proof to deliver uncut, unfiltered intensity. So 142.8, that means hazmat and that means it's gonna be even extra hard to find because the bourbon nerds will love that one. Next is the Sazerac 18 year old Kentucky straight rye whiskey, which derives its name from the historic Sazerac house in New Orleans, birthplace of the iconic Sazerac cocktail, widely regarded as America's first cocktail. This one was bottled at 18 years and five months and is 90 proof. Next is the Thomas H Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. Usually the youngest of the crew, and that will continue. So the Thomas H Handy Sazerac Straight Rye takes its name from the New Orleans businessman and owner of the legendary Sazerac Coffee House, who first used rye whiskey in the classic Sazerac cocktail. This uncut, unfiltered whiskey is crafted from barrels aged over six years and bottled at 129.8 proof, up from last year's 127.2 proof. And then for the wheat lovers out there, the William LaRue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The W.L. Weller, the pioneering distiller who first introduced wheat into the Mash Mill of Kentucky straight bourbon inspired William LaRue Weller, a wheated bourbon known for its soft, smooth character distinct from traditional rye-based styles. The Buffalo Trace distilling team filled the barrels of this year's release at 114 proof. And after 14 years of aging, the whiskey now rests at 129 proof, uncut and unfiltered. Also, from Buffalo Chase, they just recently celebrated the filling of their 9 millionth barrel of bourbon since prohibition. That's pretty crazy. This accomplishment comes on the heels of the completion of the distillery's 1.2 billion expansion project, which has allowed the distillery to fill the 9 millionth barrel in record time. The 9 millionth barrel signals a full recovery from April's historic flood and comes at a time of tremendous growth for the distillery, which is soon adding the John G. Carlyle Cafe to its visitor experience, and in October will take its visitors experience on the road around the U.S. with Buffalo Trace Distillery on tour. To give you some perspective, the millionth barrel was filled in 1942. The two millionth barrel was in 1953. The three millionth in 1961. The four millionth in 1971. The five million in 1981. The six, and this is crazy, think about this, this was when Burbank was really struggling, wasn't until 2008 the seven millionth barrels in 2018, the eighth in 2022, which was a little bit four years. And then lastly, obviously the ninth is 2025, so three years, pretty crazy. So another announcement is the Chicken Cock Whiskey, one of America's oldest whiskey brands, is bringing history back to life with the launch of Miller's Reserve American Whiskey. This 115-proof limited edition blend of four 8- to 10-year-old whiskies from states bordering the Ohio River pays tribute to the founder, James A. Miller's legendary Lost Barrels, sunk in the A.O. Tyler steamer accident of 1860. This debuted at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival on September 6.
Miller's Reserve offers collectors and whiskey lovers a bold, complex taste of American whiskey heritage reimagined.
Also in the news, Towne Branch Distillery announced the release of a rare 16-year-old bottled and bond Kentucky single malt whiskey as volume two of its archive series. A 100-proof, non-shield filtered single barrel expression with a suggested retail price of $399.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle. The archive series from Towne Branch is a collection of a rare American single malts introduced in 2024, showcasing the oldest Kentucky single malt whiskey ever bottled in bond. Over the coming years, Towne Branch will continue unveiling these whiskeys to the world. So here's probably the biggest news that's been released, and that is Kirin, which owns four roses, has put four roses distilling up for sale. And they are looking for around $1 billion for that. So maybe if we all pitch in, we can buy a part of it. I'm not sure, but that is, yeah, that's, uh, it's been like kind of rumored for a long time. A lot of folks, they might get out of it. Cause you know, Kieran is there are a big beer producer in Japan and yeah, I don't know. So. It'd be interesting to see, you know, markets kind of slowed down a little bit. So it'd be kind of interesting to see what happens with that. So yeah, I'm gonna sit here and take a little short break. Gonna sit here and enjoy this Remus distillers experiment number one. And yeah, I'll be back with the second half with something else kind of fun. All right, listeners, welcome back to the second half show. In the first half, we went through some news and I also tried the. Ross & Squibb or MGP, whatever you want to call it, they're Remus Distiller Series number one, which was a 107 proof bourbon finish in Seguin Muro barrels. Highly, highly approved of that one. It's delicious. Want to keep your eye out for and at worst try to find it in a bar. So the second half, we're getting ready to dive into another expression from Oklor. And if you've listened to a few episodes back, we went through, they were one of those that we were supposed to do a chat with and just somehow just kept falling through the cracks. And so we decided to go ahead and review. some of their offerings. And while they send us another one, this is, if you recall, we tried their story series number one, which was a port finish. And we were really impressed with that. So this is the second of the story series. And this is an Oloroso sherry cask finish four grain bourbon. It is a blend of five to six-year-old bourbons with a mash bill of 70 corn, 10 rye, 10 wheat, 10 malted barley. It is proofed at 95. I believe it retails for about $49.99 or maybe $59.99.
I don't recall. I couldn't find that information.
It was finished in these Spanish Oloroso sherry casks for another 12 to 18 months in some occasions. The color on it is like, yeah, it has like this little like Ruby tinge to it. It's really interesting. Nose, I'm getting like raisin. Obviously some wine notes. Caramel, vanilla, you know, classic stuff. All right, let's dive in. Cheers. Oh, this is another soft one. Like I said, 95 proof. Just like some nice black cherry thing going on there. A little bit of like cocoa. You can really taste that sherry influence. It gives it a little bit of like a nuttiness to it. Some dark fruits. on the sweeter side. So yeah, definitely one to keep your eye out for. I'm pretty sure you can find that in North Carolina and probably just the surrounding states. It's kind of a small new adventure. And these guys just started as kind of a couple of buddies and decided to start a distillery. Or not a distillery, I should say. They're sourcing some from North Carolina distilleries there and doing a really good job. So I promised you in the first half that we would dive in to some history and I would have loved to have gotten my good friend Russ Kennedy to read this, but it probably would have been kind of taxing and hopefully it's not too long. But some good friends of mine dug up an essay that Colonel E.H. Taylor wrote back in 1909 and they found this at the UK University of Kentucky archives. And it was basically like, it was kind of like a holy grail moment. They were trying to find it for our good friend, Brian Hara, who's writing a book on E.H. Taylor, which I'm very excited about. So I thought today I would read this essay to you guys and just kind of give you a taste of E.H. Taylor and what was going on in 1909. So here we go. The Rule of the Regions, an essay on distilling in Kentucky by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr., president of E.H. Taylor Jr. and Sons, Incorporated. At the request of and for publication in the Louisville Times 25th Anniversary Edition, December 31st, 1909. Today, I do not hesitate to declare that the foremost grades of Kentucky's bourbon actually excel in beverage qualities any whiskey made in either the Highlands of Scotland or in Ireland. This is a sweeping statement, but it is one which I make with due deliberation after more than 40 years of daily contact with the real constructive period of Kentucky's fame. This emphatic but demonstrable assertion may bring a challenge from Scotland's Glenlivet district, from the city of Dublin or from those other restricted regions of Ireland where whiskeys were made for several centuries before Kentucky's pioneer Lewis Easterdale is still housed on Glen's Creek in the bluegrass or James Crow located on its banks dropping from the clouds in 1845. Beginning as a mere incident to farming in the foundation's decades of the Commonwealth, the whiskey business of Kentucky has grown into so great an enterprise that it now represents to the state more than 180 million of its wealth. Kentucky has today over 270 registered distilleries. They represent an investment of approximately 60 million while it's estimated that more than $125 million is employed in the operating capital of these properties and their kindred industries. In the bonded warehouses on these Kentucky plants, more than 119 million gallons of whiskey of widely various grades and values are aging under government custody. This great stock, as it is distributed in the markets, will contribute its gigantic quota to the revenue of the state. It can be seen at a glance that the Kentucky whiskey business is the most important asset in the Commonwealth's prosperity. But it is not the statistical or quantitative feature of this industry that has given Kentucky its worldwide reputation. It is the qualitative. So, unceasingly have the distillers of the well-known, if limited, leading group of the finest Kentucky bourbons worked toward the highest possible standardization in fermentation, distillation, and storage. But the fame of these brands has carried Kentucky to an unequal precedence wherever the demand for quality, regardless of cost, obtains. These brands have produced a type without a peer. Most carefully and costly made and carefully and costly matured, Kentucky Bourbons will unquestionably be par excellence the beverage whiskies of the world. The perfect types will always remain distinct from those carelessly made whiskies whose aim is quantity and whose objectives is more shaffering for cheapness. The wonderful growth of Kentucky whisky business represents long years of arduous toil and scientific research. The most painstaking application and study has been given to every phase of the entire business. 100 years ago, the methods of Kentucky distillation were primitive and rudimentary. Even a single room of wood or stone contained the entire outfit. Today, Kentucky has two or three of the finest distillery plants on the globe. I remember when James Crow, whom I knew and who was a good friend of Tom Marshall, gave us the first practical use of the hydrometer, sacrometer, thermometer, et cetera, which inaugurated a new basis towards systematic procedure in the distillation of Kentucky's whiskey. Kentucky's reputation, already well advanced in spite of crude methods in the first half of the last century, grew at pace with constant improvements in distillery practice. It was about 1868 that the first important evolutions in the productive development of Kentucky whiskey began. Associated as I was with the growth of the business in the days of Oscar Pepper, Judge W.H. McBrayer, and W.F. Bond, all of whom I knew intimately, I witnessed practically every material improvement which has combined to put Kentucky's best whiskey in front rank of the world. Mr. Bond still lives at Lawrenceburg, though he has long since retired from the business with a well-deserved reputation having been one of the greatest distillers the state has ever had. I was one of the first to discard the unclearly elementary wooden beer still for the beer still of copper, a change which made for cleanliness and undoubtedly contributed a marked enhancement to the quality of the run. This use of copper beer still is now general through the best districts. I saw small tubs with their uneven gravities, temperatures, and attenuations and result in uneven effects upon the product, give way before larger and more scientific fermenters in which it is now possible to obtain both accuracy and uniformity in fermentation. One of the most indispensable steps in the process of making a perfect whiskey. I shared in conceiving one of the material improvements in the manufacture of bourbon in the early 70s, consisting of a process of straining the spent beer of a previous distillation before using it in the large fermenters. This process resulted in creamy liquid, rich in yeasting power, and free from the inner mass which distillers had previously carried into their fermentation to the detriment of the resultant product. Properly handled by a skilled distiller, the use of this strange spent beer is a valuable aid in the attainment of a faultless fermentation. The full importance of using only the highest grade of grain was never fully appreciated in the early days. And even then, the best brands of Kentucky product were entirely without stability. It is only in the expert distillation of Kentucky's leading whiskeys that the most perfect grade of corn possibly obtainable is used today. For this leading group, as superb a quality of malt is employed, as I have ever seen used in Bavaria or even in the Glenlivet. Kentucky's best storage superior to Scotland and Ireland. Kentucky's method of storing its fine whiskeys unquestionably surpasses that of Scotland or Ireland. This is another reason why the high-grade Kentucky whiskeys are superior to the Scotch and Irish product. Scotland and Ireland whiskeys are entered into bond anywhere from 11 to 20 overproof, stored in damp horse warehouses and allowed to reach maturity under descending proof scale. In Kentucky, fine whiskies are invariably entered into bond at 100 proof, placed in dry storage, and allowed to mature on ascending proof scale. There is no question, but what the Kentucky method of storage is superior and produces a higher type of beverage whiskey. You must be remembered, however, that the maturation of whiskey is nature's province. The use of artificial heat is grievous error as it cannot fail to impair the delicacy of the flavor. Time and proper storage alone do the work of maturing whiskey to perfection and nothing else can. Light and ventilation are essential to an ideal warehouse. Neutral spirits, high wines and alcohol are not indigenous to Kentucky. They are articles of a foreign growth. An alcohol of spirit from grain may be produced in any climate and by diverse methods. Why is it then that the famous beverage whiskeys of the world have only been manufactured in limited territories and Kentucky stands out as the home of fine whiskey? Why was it that selecting the leading type of whiskey on the American continent for description among the greatest products of the industries of the United States, Mr. Pulitzer in 1872 sent a New York world corresponded to this state and published in the world a detailed account of the Kentucky art of distillation as practice as its foremost plants. The answer to these questions can be found in what all the great producers of famous distilled and fermented beverages have come to nominate, the rule of the region. The rule of the regions. When first in Scotland and Ireland some 40 years ago, I asked the foremost practical distillers to what they attributed the well-known fact that the finest whiskeys can only be produced in certain well-defined regions. Not one failed to mention the water of the region in question as a paramount. I do not believe that one can exaggerate the vital importance of a proper water in the manufacture of the finest grades of whiskey, and I am convinced that nowhere in the world can one find superior water for this purpose than in certain geological areas within the state of Kentucky. In a brochure just issued by the U.S. Geological Survey entitled Water Resources of the Bluegrass Regions of Kentucky, the superiority of Kentucky water for distillation and brewing is dwelt upon. Dr. Chase Palmer, Writing of the quality of Kentucky's underground water declares, the waters of the Bluegrass region have long been recognized as being essentially suited for making whiskey of superior quality. Dr. Palmer, in discussing the value of water in distilling and brewing, asserts that the waters used in brewing, the light Bertnells, the dark Dublin porters, and the beers of Hofbrauhaus in Munich, influence the citrus characteristics of these beverages. The late John R. Proctor, years ago when state geologists made a geological map of Kentucky showing the very strata that outcropped upon the surface of the state and formed its soil bed. He gave prominence to those limestone sections in which have been produced the state's world famous whiskeys. All the authentic geological data show that the whiskeys, having the greatest reputation in the world, wherever introduced, have been those produced from water percolating through the strata of bird's-eye limestone. The properties concealed in it were stolen in its resting and passage through the mineralized strata. In the valleys near streams and in crystal springs, gushing from crevices and rents, distilleries have been planted, whose product stands today at the head. Shields, one of the primitive Kentucky distillers whose fame had expanded with his superior brand of bourbon manufactured from the waters of the springs of the Glens Creek, transferred his plant to the locality of the rich cornfields of Illinois, expecting from the distillation of cheap corn to obtain a fortune. He came back disappointed. Illinois water refused to develop the fine whiskey it made in the bluegrass. The island of Jamaica, noted for its rum, owes its name to the abundant and characteristic water. The rule of the regions is universal in the production of whiskey, brandy, rum, beer, and wine. Port wine can only be made in the region of Douro in Portugal. Cognac Brandy can only be produced in the department of the Charentais and the Charentais Inferior in France. I was never more impressed with the rule of the regions than when I visited the Champagne districts of France and talked with the heads of the world famous houses at Reims on the local reasons for their great product. I had this rule again impressed upon me when I visited the breweries in Bavaria. The governments of Europe of late years have begun to put the rule of the regions into written law and to protect those districts which have won fame for their brandies, wines, and beers. The U.S. government in a recent suit under the Food and Drugs Act sustained the right of Kentucky to the exclusive use of the name bourbon. Great Britain, however, remains hopelessly behind and leaves Scotland and Ireland to the mercy of every predatory infringer. It is pathetic to see the genuine scotch and Irish whiskeys lying in warehouses at the distilleries where they were produced while London and Glasgow shipped millions of gallons of alleged scotch and Irish whiskeys to all points of the compass. There are no means of ascertaining in the general market whether or not the liquor sold under the names of Scotch and Irish whiskeys contain even a drop of the genuine article. In marked contrast to the inability of the Scotch and Irish whiskeys to get their whisky to the consumer in its original integrity, the Kentucky Distiller, through the medium of the Admiral National Bottle and Bond Law, now transfers to a consumer anywhere on the globe a bottle of Kentucky whisky just as exactly as that whisky was made and matured on the original distillery premises. The Kentucky Distiller can have affixed under the supervision of the U.S. government official the green certificate bottling and bond stamp guaranteeing the genuineness of the product and telling under government and premature all the essential details which might interest the consumer in the identification of a pure unadulterated whiskey. Until Ireland and Scotley can get such a law, those countries must now contend themselves to be surpassed in the markets of the world by the finer Kentucky whiskeys bearing this identifying stamp. The time has come when the man who orders Scotch or Irish served him, when it is possible for him to secure one of Kentucky's genuine high grade bourbons, Baldwin Bond, prevents himself as an amusing spectacle to the whisky connoisseur. I hope you enjoyed that reading. I have found it kind of fascinating. to get into the mind of EH Tellery. We all know the story. He was, I mean, we've heard him called the PT Barnum of Bourbon. And yeah, so I hope you enjoyed that and I hope you enjoyed today's show. I expect Jim will be back. On the next show, we've got some really fun stuff lined up. We're going to get with the Bourbon and Banks folks and see how that went. We had a really great time there. And yeah, we've got a bunch of other really fun stuff coming down the pipe. So we appreciate you guys joining us on the show. As always, we do a show every single week on Wednesday. Sometimes we'll have a guest or an author and other times like today, you'll get a little slice of history and some news from me. The main thing is we have a lot of fun every week when we put out a show and it always revolves around whiskey and it always revolves around friends. The best way to not to miss one is to scroll up to the top of that app you're on, hit that subscribe button. That way every single week your podcast app will let you know that Jim and I have dropped another episode of the Bourbon Road and we will get you down your drive to work, your cutting grass, your sweeping the house, whatever it is you do with your headphones on. We'd also love for you to leave us a review if you get a chance. because that just makes us more presentable to the folks that have not found us yet. If you want to dive deeper into the rabbit hole that is the Bourbon Road, I highly recommend you join the Bourbon Roadies Facebook page where over 3,000 members come together to talk about Bourbon, celebrate anniversaries or birthdays, and just have a lot of fun. It's a great group. You can also check out the bourbonroad.com where you can check out our merchandise and read our blogs. And if you're ever in the area, please email myself or Jim and I can be reached at Todd at the bourbonroad.com and let us know you're coming into town. We'd love to meet up with you. Maybe you have a pour and who knows, we might even drag you on a show. But until the next time, we'll see you down the bourbon road.
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