A well-researched and comprehensive analysis, taking a very deep dive into the Kentucky ecosphere that made bourbon possible.
~Drink Hacker
Making Bourbon is at once a delightful read and an informative reference book on Kentucky whiskey makers. Raitz's affection for Kentucky and his authority as a renowned geographer permeates every page. He provides a compelling case for further scholarship of this kind or an excuse to settle down into a cozy seat with his book and a glass of bourbon.
~Ohio Valley History
This is a wonderful trek across the geographical history of Kentucky bourbon landscape evolution. The familiar present has deep roots in the past. Raitz details with care and admirable clarity how the past remains present in the products and places of Kentucky's history and landscapes. He carefully traces the most important tangible characteristics while also highlighting the distillers' traditions, values, and practices. This will be a valuable sourcebook for all who are fascinated by this iconic American beverage.
~Stephen Birdsall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Karl Raitz's Making Bourbon is a gem. The depth of Raitz's research and the breadth of his analysis have produced a masterful telling of the shift from craft to industrial distilling. And in telling us the story of bourbon, Raitz also makes a terrific contribution to our understanding of America's nineteenth-century economy.
~David E. Hamilton, author of From New Day to New Deal: American Farm Policy from Hoover to Roosevelt, 1928-1933
Making Bourbon, a comprehensive analysis of Kentucky distilling's ecology, heritage, technology, and connection to place, exemplifies geographical thinking at its finest. Author Karl Raitz excavates the mythical whiskey landscape to fathom the work of nineteenth-century farmer-miller-distillers who assembled folk knowledge, raw materials, and technical innovation to produce, market, and ship whiskey—processes that would shape a unique regional landscape for centuries to come.
~Joseph S. Wood, author of The New England Village
Bringing his keen geographer's eye to a truly American topic, Karl Raitz examines the rich story of distilling in its Kentucky heartland and traces its maturation from a local craft to an enduring industry. This veteran scholar of the American scene brings to life the distilling landscape and links it to both the fascinating people and the ecological settings that made such an industry possible. Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, savor every sip of this delicious book!
~William Wyckoff, author of How to Read the American West: A Field Guide
Informed and informative, comprehensive and detailed, and an absolute 'must read' choice for the legions of dedicated Kentucky bourbon enthusiasts, Making Bourbon: A Geographical History of Distilling in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky is a significant and comprehensive history that is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library collections.
~Midwest Book Review
In this meticulously researched, richly illustrated, and skillfully written volume, one of the sages of American cultural and historical geography has produced what will surely be considered the authoritative account of how the actors involved in the business of bourbon production produced an evocative distilling cultural landscape ensemble in Kentucky over the course of two centuries. It is a book whose utility and approach will be appreciated for years to come.
~Material Culture: Journal of the International Society for Landscape, Place, & Material Culture
