Dori Szabo: Fly To Paris Fashion AT FORTY FIVE Magazine Issue 2021 16

THE HISTORY
OF WHISKEY
Whiskey is Ancient!
Whiskey is the product of the
distillation of fermented grain.
The first records of the process
were found in the archeological
digs of millennia BC Babylon
and Mesopotamia. Initially used
for the creation of perfumes
and aromas, distillation 2 nd
slowly spread across the ancient
civilizations where it received
numerous adaptations and
improvements, finally finding
its home behind the walls of the
European Christian monasteries.
Which Came First,
the Scottish or Irish?
Well, history tells us that they
both had firsts that contributed to
the rise of whiskey drinking.
• The first written recording of
whiskey in Europe was in 1494.
Scotland’s Exchequer granted
malt to Friar John Cor to make
1500 bottles.
• In 1608 Ireland’s Old Bushmills
Distillery became the first
licensed whiskey distillery in the
world.
Whiskey On to
North American Soil
1775 saw whiskey used as a
form of currency in America.
During the Old West days,
the saying here (in Colorado) was
“whiskey is for drinking and water
is for fighting over.”
Then Prohibition (1920 – 1933)
came and decimated the industry
in the US. It forced the making
underground into the arms of
organized crime. It reduced the
expansion and technological
advancement of the industry.
Even with the end of prohibition
in 1933, it took until the ’70s for
the industry to regroup and move
forward. It also helped to raise the
profile of the Canadian rye variety.
LEARN MORE
Check out this excellent site
www.whiskeyfacts.com for
more information.
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