THE COMPLEXITY OF ALCOHOL
BOURBON WHISKEY IN KENTUCKY:
THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF AMERICA’S SPIRIT
AUTHOR Thomas S. Higgins, Jr., MD, MSPH
FIRST, DO NO HARM
We are doctors. We talk about risks. We talk
about the dangers of overindulgence and ad-
diction. We talk about the negative effects
of alcohol on the body. And we should talk
about all of these issues. But, when we are done
making countless people feel better and even
saving lives, we may want to relax and enjoy things. In Kentucky,
one of those things is bourbon whiskey.
BOURBON IS AMERICA’S SPIRIT AND KENTUCKY’S WHISKEY
“Bourbon” is recognized worldwide as a Kentucky gem. In Jamaica,
France, Ireland and cities all over the United States, introducing
myself as a Kentucky native has sparked long conversations into
whiskey’s history and queries about my preferences. Occasionally,
instant friendships have been born. Bourbon lore fascinates people
and gives them a desire to visit our “Old Kentucky Home.”
Bourbon whiskey, after all, is America’s Spirit.[1]
Really. It is. Legally.
On May 4, 1964, the United States Congress voted to designate
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
bourbon whiskey as “a distinctive product of the United States.” [2]
See Figure 1 (page 15) if you don’t believe me. Just as scotch was to
Scotland and Irish whiskey was to Ireland, bourbon whiskey became
the legally recognized spirit of the United States [3], and Kentucky
was the place to find [most of] it. This concurrent resolution pro-
hibited the importation of “bourbon whiskey” from other countries,
thereby protecting the product as a national commodity. Rigorous
regulations established bourbon whiskey’s standards of identity. So,
to settle one burning question: Bourbon whiskey can be produced
anywhere in the United States. (But, of course, “real bourbon” is
still only made in Kentucky.)
KENTUCKY AND BOURBON GREW UP TOGETHER
Bourbon whiskey’s history is uniquely American, with Kentucky
at the center of the story. As Virginian lands became used up from
a lack of crop rotation, a new law in 1776 allowing settlers to claim
land in “Kentucky County” - if they were to build a cabin and plant
corn - introduced pioneers to the main ingredients of bourbon
whiskey: corn and filtered water.[4] Bourbon whiskey is unique
in that it has to be at least 51% corn mash, and corn was a reliable
crop in colonial America. Because of Kentucky’s fertile soil, with
Kentucky water clear and pure from the limestone bedrock, a star