Mitenbuler’s works in the Civil War and the rebuilding transcend the drink and give perspective to the fact that bourbon is more than an adult beverage, it’s woven into the very fabric that makes the United States unique.Īs for the brown liquor we’ve come to know and love, Mitenbuler examines the subtle alcohol wars prior to Prohibition, as distillers and brewers squared off for the public’s affection instead of unifying to thwart Prohibition efforts. One of my favorite “Bourbon Empire” themes is how the post-Civil War United States struggles to find its identity and bourbon becomes the south’s drink, from the creation of “Rebel Yell” to honor the Confederacy to the slow decline of Confederate-style bourbon marketing as time healed old wounds. Mitenbuler shows how the United States and whiskey have always been intertwined and presents early American drama made for TV. With bourbon’s popularity, Mitenbuler’s timing is impeccable, but his voice presents a timeless style and a new way of looking at previously published material, while delivering new scholarly research that will open new doors for bourbon writers. “Bourbon Empire” delivers its share of controversy, connecting 1800s era moonshiners to the Ku Klux Klan and unraveling the truth about bourbon legacies. In “ Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey,” author Reid Mitenbuler feeds the bourbon community’s insatiable need for accurate and historical information.
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