CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 17 Made in America: Part II | Page 117

it is recorded that there were at least 2,200 distilleries operating in Kentucky.
Since the climate favored corn over rye in Kentucky, the whiskey distilled there
was either Maryland style rye or, if an even higher percentage of corn was used,
the distillate would eventually come to be known as bourbon.
While the center of population in the United States remained east of the Appa-
lachian Mountains, rye whiskey flourished. Shipping routes in the east favored
rye whiskey over its cousin from Kentucky. The only major shipping routes for
bourbon were down the river to New Orleans or overland through the moun-
tains. As such, rye whiskey was the main style of whiskey consumed in the
United States from the end of the Civil War until prohibition.
On January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution was
ratified, to take effect one year later. Interestingly, the regulations prohibit-
ed the sale, manufacture, and transport of intoxicating beverages, but not the
consumption of them. Enforcement was difficult enough, and within five years
or so, most large-scale attempts at enforcement were abandoned. Due to the
duration of the Nobel Experiment and the unbelievably large number of sickly
Americans during this period, the aging stockpile of whiskey dwindled. By the
time prohibition ended, there was relatively little well-aged American whiskey
in the warehouses.
Two events in 1933 conspired to bring Monongahela rye to its knees. Prohibi-
Unknown, The Whiskey Rebellion, Circa 1795.
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