Whiskey Makers in Washington, D.C.
A Pre-Prohibition History
A Book by Troy Hughes
ARCADIA PUBLISHING and THE HISTORY PRESS
Bottle Recreations by Christina Knapp, Hellow Yellow, Inc.
Before Prohibition, a number of liquor merchants operated in DC. This was a time when intoxicating beverages were at the forefront of the national conversation, and the District, being subject to control by Congress, served as a testing ground for regulation.
Starting with a bit of American Whiskey History, the book covers the prominence of rye in DC prior to Prohibition, the various ways the Federal Government has taxed whiskey over the years – including “bottled-in-bond”.
Other topics include: a quick look into the Sons of Temperance and their presence in DC – specifically Mt. Pleasant, the First Lady Lemonade Lucy, and the sad tale of the Washington Senators star Ed Delahanty. Come learn about where the “club” came from in whiskey names and about the quinine connection with whiskey.
On the political front, read a blow-by-blow account of the decade long whiskey war (Rectified vs. Straight Producers) that involved every branch of the government. Learn the stories of Harvey Wiley, the father of the modern FDA and how he was in the pocket of the straight whiskey producers. Read about both the Poison and Liquor Squads.
Explore the whiskey merchants that sold their wares in DC prior to November 1, 1917, when Prohibition came to DC.
William D. Barry
Mt. Pleasant Club Whiskey, the original bottle that started ALL of this!
John Morris
Westover Rye and Brookville Rye
J. Charles McGuire
Federal Seal Rye
Charles Kraemer
Fineza Rye
P.J. Drury Co.
Haviland Rye
Christian Xander
Old Reserve
William Meuleisen Sr. and Jr.
Oakmont Rye
James Tharp
Berkeley Pure Rye
William J. Donovan
Columbia Club
Mistakes Were Made….
Errata Sheet
January 26, 2023
Whiskey Makers in Washington, D.C.: A Pre-Prohibition History
By Troy Hughes
In citing to over 200 sources in putting this book together, I missed one. It is to a Bourbon and Barns Blog dated July 3, 2017 and can be found here: Gallery: Bourbon and Barns
Entitled, “New Feature: Blog Partner Explores Bourbon through Lawsuits,” it contains the works of attorney Brian Haara. These works later ended up in Haara’s 2018 book, Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America. The initial run of printing of my book contains the following mistakes. All of these will be revised in subsequent printings of my book.
I’d like to thank Brian for pointing out my oversight here after I sent him an advance review copy of my book.
Page 24: Last sentence of the last paragraph, the book should attribute Brian Haara’s work in the July 3, 2017 Bourbon and Barns Blog post as the source for the quote from the case E.H. Taylor Jr. and Sons Co. v. Marion E. Taylor, 27 Ky.L.Rptr., 124 Ky. 173, 85 S.W. 1085 (1905).
Page 31: First paragraph, first sentence and the quote in the second sentence should be attributed to Haara’s work in the July 3, 2017 Bourbon and Barns Blog post.
Bibliography should be update to include:
Bourbon and Barns Blog. “New Feature: Blog Partner Explores Bourbon through Lawsuits”, July 3, 2017 https://bournandbarns.com/blog/2017/7/3/new-feature-blog-partner-explores-bourbon-and-historical-lawsuits