The name 'bourbon' comes from a county in eastern Kentucky, which in turn was named for the bourbon kings of France who had aided the American rebels in the Revolutionary War. In these new states farmers found ideal corn-growing country and smooth, limestone-filtered water-two of the basic ingredients of bourbon whiskey. This situation did provoke a new migration of settlers into the then-western frontier lands of Kentucky and Tennessee. The ringleaders were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, but cooler heads prevailed, and after jail time they were pardoned and released. Order was finally restored when the federal government sent in an army of 15,000 militiamen, led by George Washington, to put down the revolt. Federal tax agents were assaulted and killed by angry mobs. The farmer-distillers of western Pennsylvania responded violently in what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion. In 1794 the new, cash-strapped Federal government imposed the first federal excise tax on distillers. From the start they produced corn-based whiskies. By the end of the American War of Independence in 1784, the first commercial distilleries had been established in what was then the western Virginia county of Kentucky. In Pennsylvania these were primarily Rye whiskies farther to the west and south Corn whiskies predominated. Grain was awkward to ship to East Coast markets because of the poor roads so many farmers turned to distilling their crops into whiskey. Mostly small farmers, they quickly adapted to growing rye because of its hardiness, and, in the western counties, Native American corn because of its high yields. This rush of humanity, augmented by German immigrants of a similar religious and cultural persuasion, passed through the seaboard colonies and settled initially in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and western Virginia. These Scots, and the Protestant Scottish settlers from the Northern Irish province of Ulster who came to be known as the 'Scotch-Irish' in the new World, brought to North America their religion, their distrust of government control, and their skill at distilling whiskey. In the early 1700s a combination of bad economic times and religious unrest against the Established Church in Great Britain set off a great wave of emigration from Scotland and Ireland. Distilled spirits soon followed, with rum made from imported Caribbean molasses dominating in the northern colonies, and an assortment of fruit brandies in the south.

The first locally-made alcoholic beverage was beer, although the limited supply of barley malt was frequently supplemented by such local substitutes as pumpkin pulp. It is recorded that the Pilgrims chose to make final landfall at Plymouth, Massachusetts, even though their original destination was elsewhere, primarily because they were almost out of beer. The first waves of British settlers in North America were a thirsty lot. The charred oak barrels give bourbon a distinctive spicy oak firmness that is unique to American whiskeys.

The Taste: Flavor descriptors such as toffee, pralines, vanilla, and dried fruit to describe the initial rush of flavors in a good, well-aged bourbon. It should be noted though that each distiller has their own interpretation of what constitutes a 'small batch.' Single Barrel Bourbon is bourbon from one specifically chosen cask. Small Batch Bourbons are bourbons that bottled from a small group of specially selected barrels that are blended together. Any bourbon, or any other domestic or imported whiskey, for that matter, that has been aged less than four years must contain an age statement on the label. Bourbon Whisky must contain a minimum of 51% corn, be produced in the United States, be distilled at less than 80% ABV (160 proof) and be aged in new charred oak barrels 'straight' bourbon must be aged for a minimum of two years, although in practice virtually all straight whiskies are aged at least four years.

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