Bourbon Empire (31 page)

An example of the whiskey industry’s tradition of reimagining history for marketing purposes, this short-lived brand from the 1930s depicts the brutal alcohol trade between whites and Native Americans as a peaceful, mutually beneficial affair.

(Image courtesy of The Filson Historical Society.)

George Washington’s distillery at Mount Vernon was the largest of its kind before it burned down in the early nineteenth century. In 2009, it was rebuilt with funds from an industry trade group, which helped burnish the whiskey industry’s reputation by connecting it to America’s most famous founding father.

(Image courtesy of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.)

Cutting and harvesting ice from ponds as part of the “frozen-water trade.” Beginning in the early nineteenth century, giant blocks were shipped from Massachusetts to as far away as India, one of the new markets created in part by convincing people that cocktails were best served cold.

(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

This distillery in Anderson County, Kentucky, was built before the Civil War and was typical of its era (this photo was taken in the 1870s). Note the livestock in the foreground that fed on the spent mash and provided a sideline source of revenue, which was often more profitable than making whiskey.

(Image courtesy of Jack Sullivan.)

A distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, photographed in 1900, demonstrates the growing scale of individual distilleries as consolidation whittled the industry down to a smaller number of larger operators.

(Image courtesy of Jack Sullivan.)

As brand names became widespread after the Civil War, sporting events grew into common marketing arenas. In 1910, James E. Pepper Whisky sponsored boxing legend Jack Johnson in his bout against Jim “The Great White Hope” Jeffries in Reno, Nevada, during the “Fight of the Century.”

(Image courtesy of Georgetown Trading Co.)

In addition to sports, whiskey marketers would soon learn that sex was also a good way to sell liquor. Brands circumvented laws against pornography by dressing up advertisements as classical art, placing nude images in “exotic” settings such as ancient Greece or the Middle East.

(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

Minorities usually fared poorly in pre-Prohibition whiskey advertising.

(Image courtesy of Jack Sullivan.)

(Image courtesy of Jack Sullivan.)

(Image courtesy of Jack Sullivan.)

Joseph Greenhut was the biggest distiller in the nation before Prohibition and entertained U.S. presidents at his many homes (his mansion in Peoria, Illinois, is shown
here
). Greenhut’s name faded from history, however, as the corrupt and unaccountable industry he presided over was transformed by government regulations. Greenhut was also the target of anti-Semitic remarks made by auto baron Henry Ford, who claimed that Jewish distillers represented a conspiracy to undermine American morality and business. These remarks exemplify how Prohibitionists leveraged xenophobic outrage against American immigrants during their crusade.