When it comes to whisky legends, George Dickel has one of the most confusing. Was he a distiller or wasn't he a distiller? Who is this Victor or Manny Shwab that gets a mention during the historical breakdown on the tour. Did George ever own the Cascade Hollow distillery? And if he didn't who did? Plus, where did the slogan for their whisky "Mellow as Moonlight" come from?

My guest today, Clay Shwab, is the great-grandson of the man who had a vision for George Dickel & Co, laid his own money on the line, and helped bring George Dickel's Cascade whisky into the 20th century. He just wrote a new book called Manny Shwab and the George Dickel Company: Whisky, Power and Politics During Nashville's Gilded Age and we're going to dig into some of the stories, compare notes, and introduce you to one of the most fascinating whisky origin stories you've never heard.

Back during the Pandemic, I was chatting with a friend of my from New Mexico about whiskey and I noticed on the Zoom call how many bottles of Laws Whiskey House spirits he had on his back shelf. He was a real fan. And that piqued my interest. So when I was traveling back from California on a major road trip, I made a quick stop into the Denver-based distillery.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with their San Luis Valley Rye. I heard stories that this rye was hand picked from wild rye growing in this region. Was this some romanticized tale that was going around or was it true? Who better to ask than the man behind not only that rye, but also a four grain bourbon, wheat whiskey, and malt whiskey. Join me for my conversation with Al Laws.

This week, I continue my conversation with Alan Bishop as I toss him one of the little gems I found in my research about Kentucky Bourbon. The question must be asked, when did Kentucky move from pot stills and log stills to the modern column and thumper/doubler combination? We might be pretty close to an answer.

It is time to move on to the late 19th century and learn what distillers like James C. Crow and other legends were using in their distilleries and why. And we'll find out Col. E.H. Taylor's opinion about Kentucky's modern distilling tools.

Enjoy this week's dig into the history of distillation.