Front Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Chapter 1. Prerequisites -- A Sobering Assessment of History -- This Book -- The Histories -- The Whiskeys -- The Recipes -- The Music Playlists -- Let's Get Started -- Old Spirits Brought to a New Continent -- Chapter 2. A Decidedly Ambivalent Meeting of the New and Old World -- Which Way Are We Headed? -- Rye Whiskey -- George Thorpe -- The First American Distillery -- The Irish from Ulster Arrive -- The Molasses Act of 1733 -- What Does Whiskey Taste Like in the 18th Century? -- Dinner at Berkeley Hundred, VA, with George Thorpe and Chief Opechancanough -- Music That Takes Us Back to Colonial Times -- Chapter 3. A New Nation (and Distillery) is Born -- George Washington -- The Whiskey Rebellion -- The Distillery at Mount Vernon -- What Does Whiskey from George Washington's Distillery Taste Like? -- Dinner at Mount Vernon, VA, with George and Martha Washington -- Music That Takes Us Back to the Revolutionary War -- Way Out West. . .in the Ohio River Valley -- Chapter 4. Kentucky and Its Bourbon Follow Shortly -- The First Pioneers -- How Did Bourbon Get Its Name? -- Why Kentucky? -- Some of the Earliest Kentucky Distilling Families -- What Does Kentucky Whiskey Taste Like in the 1800s? -- Dinner at Lebanon, KY, with Elijah Craig and the Traveling Church -- Music That Takes Us Back to Daniel Boone's Paradise -- Chapter 5. Tennessee Whiskey: Who Taught Jack Daniel to Make Whiskey? -- Don't Call It Bourbon If It's from Tennessee -- Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel -- Nathan "Uncle Nearest" Green -- What Does Whiskey Taste Like in Jack Daniel's Day? -- Dinner at Lynchburg, TN, with Jack Daniel and Nathan and George Green -- Music That Takes Us Back to Good Old Rocky Top -- The Most UnCivil War -- Chapter 6. A House Divided and Reunited.

Whiskey in the Executive Mansion Before the Civil War -- Abraham Lincoln (16th president, 1861-1865) and his Civil War Cohort -- The Civil War Whiskey Strategy -- Ulysses S. Grant -- The Whiskey Ring -- Dr. James C. Crow -- What Does U. S. Grant's Favorite Whiskey Taste Like? -- Dinner at the Executive Mansion, Washington, DC, with Ulysses S. and Julia Grant -- Music That Takes Us Back to the Civil War -- Chapter 7. The First Voice of the American Common Man -- Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) -- What Does Whiskey Taste Like in the Late 1800s? -- Dinner at Nook Farm, Hartford, CT, with Samuel and Olivia Clemens -- Music That Takes Us Back to Mark Twain's Time -- Oh, Give Me a Home. . . -- Chapter 8. Opening the West: Cowboys and Outlaws -- The Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition -- The Rendezvous -- After the Civil War, What Was There to Do? -- What Does Whiskey Taste Like 'Round the Campfire? -- Dinner at Grand Hotel (Big Nose Kate's Saloon), Tombstone, AZ, with Wyatt Earp & -- Josephine Marcus -- Music That Takes Us Back to the Cowboys' Campfire -- Chapter 9. Cow Towns -- Where Can You Get a Drink Around Here? -- The Wild West Gets Tamed -- Whiskey in the Executive Mansion After the Civil War -- What Does Whiskey Taste Like in Mormon Country? -- Dinner at Salt Lake City, UT, with Brigham Young and His Many Wives -- Music That Takes Us Back to Dodge City -- The 18th Amendment. . .and the 21st -- Chapter 10. Banning Booze and Shunning Strangers -- Extra! Extra! Prohibition Has Whiskey Over a Barrel! -- Prohibition Becomes Law: A New Class of Criminals is Created -- The Wets -- Whiskey Will Cure What Ails You, One Way or Another -- The Speakeasy -- The End of Prohibition -- What Does Speakeasy Whiskey Taste Like? -- Dinner at the Cotton Club, Manhattan, NY, with Duke, Louie, and Billie.

Music That Takes Us Back to the Time between the World Wars -- Chapter 11. Bootleggers and Moonshiners, You Ain't Never Heard Of -- George Remus: The Real Jay Gatsby? -- Moonshine -- Outsmarting the Revenuers and the Birth of NASCAR -- Whiskey in the White House: First Half of the 20th Century -- What Does Moonshine Taste Like? -- Dinner at the Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, KY, with George and Imogene Remus -- Music That Was Inspired by Moonshine -- Home from the War and Ready to Party -- Chapter 12. America (and Bourbon) Takes Flight -- Whiskey and World War II -- The Post-War Blues -- The Samuels Family -- What Does America's First Premium Whiskey Taste Like? -- Dinner at Maker's Mark Distillery, Loretto, KY, with Bill, Sr. and Margie Samuels, and Bill, Jr. -- Music That Was on the Radio in the 1950s -- Chapter 13. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Direct from the Bar " -- The 1950s on Stage: The Rat Pack -- "Never Rat on a Rat" -- The 1950s on Screen: A Real Man and a Real Bombshell -- America Moves On -- What Whiskey Reminds Us of the 1950s? -- Dinner at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, with Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner -- Music That Was on the Stage and Screen in the 1950s -- It's Hip to Be Square -- Chapter 14. Maybe Dad was Hipper Than I Thought -- Bourbon Hits a Dry Spell -- The Comeback: Blanton's Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey -- The Birth of the Whisk(e)y Wizards -- Whiskey in the White House: Second Half of the 20th Century -- Other Super-Premium Whiskeys Join in the Fun -- What Does Super-Premium Whiskey Taste Like? -- Dinner at Stony Hill Mansion, Frankfurt, KY, with Elmer T. and Libby Lee & -- Albert Blanton -- Music That Was on the Radio in the 1980s -- Chapter 15. Who to Drink With? Renowned Whiskey Drinkers of Yesterday and Today -- Steve Allen and Meeting of Minds -- The Guest List.

What Whiskey Should You Serve Your Distinguished Guests? -- Dinner at KCET-TV, Hollywood, CA, with Steve Allen, Jane Meadows and Their Guests on Meeting of Minds -- Music from the 1980s That Your Time Traveling Guests Might Like to Hear -- Whiskey Today: Millennials Who Mash -- Chapter 16. Making Friends with the Goliaths -- Corn and Rye Make a Comeback -- The Industry Responds to the New Demand -- Gobble, Gobble -- Caveat Emptor: The First Impression of Your Whiskey is Not in Your Nose or Mouth -- What Does a Goliath Whiskey Taste Like? -- What Dessert Should You Serve Your Best Whiskey Friends to Keep Them Healthy? -- Music That Millennials Listened to as the 21st Century Began -- Chapter 17. Making Room for the Davids -- Bourbon with a Man Bun: What is Craft Whiskey? -- Fakery -- Secondary Market -- Looking into the Crystal Glencairn Glass -- What Does a Craft Bourbon Born in the Brooklyn Navy Yard Taste Like? -- Dessert at Your Favorite Tasting Room Café -- Music That We Listened to in the 2010s -- Chapter 18. Conclusion: Tasting Notes for American History -- The Final Toast -- References for Further Reading -- Illustration Credits -- Acknowledgements -- Index -- About the Author.