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erected
on
more
.scienlilic
and
ccoiioniic
prinuiplL's
than
had
been
previously
made.
The
first
whisicy
made
in
Kentucky
was
produced
exclusive-
ly
from
corn,
which
was
grown
right
on
the
farms
where
these
small
stills
had
been
set
up.
Later,
it
was
found
that
the
intro-
duction
of
some
rye
with
the
corn,
in
the
mash,
increased
the
yield
of
spirits
produced
and
improved
the
flavor.
Still
later,
it
was
found
that
barley,
malted, further
increa.sed
the
yield.
The
fertile
county
of
Uourboii
was
the
largest
producer
of
whisky
in
Kentucky
in
those
early
days,
and
it
is
said
that
the
first
still
was
erected
there.
The
whisky
made
in
that
county
became
known
as
"B()url)i)ii
Whisky."
Later,
other
counties
be-
came
celebrated
for
the
quantity
and
character
of
their
produc-
tions
of
whisky,
such
as
Nelson,
Anderson,
Fayette,
Daviess,
Marion,
etc.,
and
in
Kentucky,
before
the
Civil
War,
the
county
in
which
the
whisky
was
produced
became,
as
it
were,
a
trade
mark
for
all
the
distilleries
in
such
county,
so
that,
among
Ken-
tuckians,
whisky
was
known
by
the
county
in
which
it
was
dis-
tilled.
But,
outside
of
the
State
of
Kentucky,
Bourbon
County,
whicli
had
been
the
largest
producer
of
whisky,
became
the
mcst
important
source
of
supply
for
the
demand
for the
goods
from
without
the
borders
of
the
State,
and,
con.sequently,
Kentucky
whisky
was
linked
with
the
name
of
that
county.
Bourbon,
therefore,
became
a
generic
name,
as
known
outside
oi
the
State,
to
all
whisky
made
in
the
whole
State
of
Kentucky
of
which
the
largest
percentage
of grain,
from
which
it
was
made,
consisted
of
corn.
Kentucky,
having
succeeded
so well
in
establishing
a
legiti-
mate
commerce
with
Bourbon
whisky,
the
distillers
began
to
manufacture
other
whisky
with
a
larger
percentage
of
rye,
and
sometimes
with
a
total
of
rye,
known
as
"Rye
Whisky,"
so
that
for
more
than
a
quarter
of a
century
all
whisky
made
in
Ken-
tucky
has
been
known
as
either
Bourbon
or
Rye
whisky.
As
indicative of the
improvements
made
in
the
.scientific
distillation
of
whi.sky,
I
will
cite
the
fact
that
the
yield
per
bushel
of
grain
of
about
two
gallons
and
a
quart
of
whisky
has
about
doubled
within
the
last
half
century.
In
my
own
experience
in
the
busi-
ne.ss,
now
pa.st
forty
years,
I
remember
buying
a
crop
of
old-
fashioned
sour
mash
whisky,
the
yield
of
which
was
oidy
two
and
one-fourth
gallons
per
bushel.
Such
a
small
yield
as
this
now
would
entail
on
the
producer
the
payment
of
the
(tovern-
ment
tax
of
$1.10
per
gallon
on
the
deficiency
for
his
failure
to
obtain
as
much
spirits
from
each
bushel
of
grain
as
the
Govern-
ment,
after
surveying
the
distillery,
holds
should
be
the
mini-
mum
amount
produced
in
1h(>
iilant.