Michael Veach
Michael Veach | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1959 (age 66–67) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Occupation | historian, curator |
| Known for | expert in the history of Bourbon Whiskey |
Notable work |
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage |
Michael Veach is an American most noted as an expert in the history of Bourbon Whiskey.[2]
Early life
[edit | edit source]Veach was born in Louisville, Kentucky.[1]
Veach described returning to school, after 15 years of working dead-end jobs.[1] He studied at the University of Lexington, eventually earning a PhD. When he was a grad student, he was asked to help catalog the archive of United Distillers. He impressed them well enough that his summer job turned into becoming their full-time historian, once he finished his PhD.
Bourbon historian
[edit | edit source]Veach's opinions on whiskey is widely cited.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
[edit | edit source]According to John Arnold, writing in the Bourbon Gypsy his 2013 book, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage, is "a history book that reads like a great novel."[9]
Eric Burke, of the Bourbon Guy, praised Veach because his book "dispels many of the myths that bourbon marketing people have wormed into the legends of bourbon."[10]
A review in the journal Ohio Valley History noted Veach spent over twenty years researching the book.[11]
Etymology of Bourbon
[edit | edit source]Based on his own research Veach challenges the widely repeated, but undocumented assertions that Bourbon Whiskey's name derives from its history of first being distilled in Bourbon County, Kentucky.[2] Veach studied labels preserved at the Filson Historical Society, and stated “the story that the name ‘bourbon’ comes from Bourbon County doesn’t even start appearing in print until the 1870s.”.
American farmers had a long tradition of distilling spirits, including various kinds of whiskey, for their own consumption.[2] But, prior to American Independence, the most popular distilled spirit for sale was Rum. Indepence made Rum, imported from the Caribean, more expensive. Whiskey started being produced, for sale, in Kentucky, due to the inadequacy of the roads that crossed the Appalachian Mountains. Kentucky's soil was excellent, for growing grain, but it was difficult to ship east over the mountains. However, Whiskey, distilled from that grain, didn't spoil, was much more compact, and could be transported downriver in unpowered vessels.
Farmers did ship their whiskey, in charred Oak barrels, down the river to brokers in New Orleans.[2] Veach's alternate explanation for the name Bourbon is the brokers who bought the whiskey, were all located on New Orleans, Bourbon Street. He named two prominent merchants, who were among the key purchasers of the whiskey, who sold it as "Corn Brandy".
Publications
[edit | edit source]- Michael R. Veach (2013). Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813141718.
- Susan Reigler, Michael Veach (2018). The Bourbon Tasting Notebook. Acclaim Press. ISBN 978-1-942613-93-0.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Bourbon Historian and Author". The Bourbon Road. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3
Laura Kiniry (2013-06-13). "Where Bourbon Really Got Its Name and More Tips on America's Native Spirit". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
As associate curator of special collections at Louisville’s Filson Historical Society and a former archivist for United Distilleries, situated in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country, 54-year-old Veach has spent decades studying bourbon history. Many local residents consider him the spirit’s unofficial ambassador, and it’s a title he’s undoubtedly earned.
- ↑
Chris Chamberlain (2023-12-28). "Three Local Whiskeys Shine in Prestigious Tastings". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
If you’re a whiskey fan, you’ve probably heard of spirits experts Fred Minnick and Michael Veach. This duo of noted authors, speakers and tasters recently shared their year-end lists of the best whiskeys of 2023, and Middle Tennessee spirits really stood out.
- ↑ Janet Patton (2023-11-07). "How to pour, drink and enjoy Kentucky bourbon whether straight or in cocktails". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
- ↑
Joseph V. Micallef (2024-09-07). "Want Alternatives To Pappy And Weller? 10 Top-Ranked Wheated Bourbons". Forbes magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
According to noted bourbon historian Michael Veach, however, Van Winkle didn’t start using wheated mash bills till the tail end of Prohibition (although he had long experimented with them), when a handful of distillers were allowed to start making whiskey again to replenish “medicinal whiskey” stocks.
- ↑
Mickey Lyons (2016-10-15). "The bourbon so exclusive that even billionaires can't buy it". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
Michael Veach, bourbon historian, agrees that there’s little to be done about the shortage until production catches up with demand. 'You’d have to be a fortune-teller' to predict bourbon’s market variables, he says. 'You’d have to know in 20 years how much you’re going to need and how much you’re going to sell.' Customers should be patient, he advises.
- ↑
Maggie Kimberl (2016-01-12). "The Perfect Age For Bourbon Probably Isn't What You Think". The Whiskey Wash. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
'In my opinion there is no perfect age for bourbon,' says Bourbon Historian Michael Veach. 'It depends upon what flavor profile you are going for as to where you age the whiskey in the warehouse and for how long. It is more about maturity or ripeness than a specific time frame. Some barrels mature quicker than others. That is why whiskey production is as much art as science. Whiskey is not constrained to a tight formula.'
- ↑
Darcy Costello, Phillip M. Bailey (2018-06-01). "Bourbon tariff: How Trump's trade war can kill Kentucky jobs". Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
But President Donald Trump's trade war with the European Union and others could cost the state's $8.5 billion bourbon industry — which generates about 17,500 jobs and $800 million in payroll — if it is met with retaliatory tariffs. If that happens, bourbon historian Michael Veach said, 'it's going to hurt.'
- ↑
John Arnold (2020-12-08). "KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY – an American Heritage". Bourbon Gypsy. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
It’s quite a trick to write a history book that reads like a great novel. Michael Veach has done just that in his book, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey – an American Heritage.
- ↑
Eric Burke (2013-03-18). "Book Review: Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey—An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach". BOURBON GUY. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
The book follows the bourbon story from before the Whiskey Rebellion all the way up until today. Along the way it dispels many of the myths that bourbon marketing people have wormed into the legends of bourbon.
- ↑
Megan L. Bever (2015-10-07). "Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach (review)". Ohio Valley History. The Filson Historical Society and Cincinnati Museum Center. 13 (2): 95–96. ISSN 2377-0600. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
Veach has spent more than twenty years researching Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage while working in the archives of United Distillers and at The Filson Historical Society.