Book Review: Whiskey Stories

By Randall H. Borkus

Rating: A

Richard Thomas, is my friend, managing editor and the owner of the online magazine The Whiskey Reviewer.  He released a book last month called Whiskey Stories: The True Spirit Behind the Labels.  This is not Thomas’ first book, so here we have a seasoned, or shall I say well-aged writer.

For me, the book is a wonderful summary of whiskey and whiskey label history.

It is well-written and a must-read for anyone wanting to learn about the evolution of whiskey-making, distilleries, the historical masters of the industry, and the stories and lore surrounding whiskey. The book is loaded with tidbits of lore and information and stories, some new, some true, some maybe not so true.

For example, let’s take Elijah Craig, the alleged “father of Kentucky Bourbon.”

Did you know that there are at least three versions of how Craig came to invent the aging of Kentucky bourbon in charred oak barrels? I’m sure there are still more stories floating around out there somewhere as well. And did you know there are variations of the story behind how Four Roses brand came into existence? This book sheds light on all this and much more.

I asked Thomas “What did you learn while researching the book that really stood out for you?

He stated “I suppose the biggest thing I learned in writing the book was the Lem Motlow murder case. Somehow, I had never heard about that prior to digging around the basics of the years when Jack Daniel’s was operating out of St. Louis, Missouri. It’s an ugly case, a dark example of what Jim Crow America was like. Once I had come to grips with it, I was surprised I had not heard or read about it before.”

Well for the record, I too never heard the details of the Lem Motlow murder case. Sounds ugly and it is a story that must be told!

I have likely read 100+ books on the subject of distilleries, whiskey and/or spirits. I found myself waking each morning to a cup of coffee and reading Whiskey Stories. As I worked my way through the book, I thoroughly enjoyed the way Thomas laid out the chapters in easy-to-read sections. I even surmised how this book could easily be used to put together a whiskey history and lore survey course. For sure this book would be a great starting point as the chapters are short, succinct and well researched.

Whiskey Stories is a worthy read and would make a great gift to any whiskey enthusiast who treasures knowledge of the history, industry players and labels behind our treasured spirits of bourbon, scotch, Irish and Japanese whiskey.

You can buy the book on Amazon for $20.