Why Was Minnesots 13 Moonshine Important?

In St. Cloud during the Great Depression and Prohibition days, the monks of St. John’s Abbey ran and owned, in the area today known as Collegeville, the biggest moonshine-brewing still in Stearns County, and whenever the feds came sniffing around looking to bust the holy bootleggers, the monks would put down their whiskey, pull up their cowls, and, as the song goes, pretend to pray.

That’s just one fascinating factoid to be had in “Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass,” the Kelly Nathe- and Norah Shapiro–produced and directed documentary that hits theaters as a must-see for fans of “Fargo,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and “Prairie Home Invasion,” not to mention all ye fervent disciples of the home brewing and brew-pub scene.

After a successful festival run last year, “Minnesota 13” returns to St. Anthony Main Theatre for a week’s run starting Friday (Jan.27) and comes highly recommended as one extremely entertaining telling of Minnesota’s secret bootlegging history that cropped up in the ’20s and ’30s around Holdingford, Avon, St.

1. Cloud, and the whole of Stearns County.
2. At film’s outset, a mash-up of voices gets at the basics of the tale: “Moonshinging was illegal, it was not immoral.” “Bootlegging was very common, and everybody in the community protected each other.” “They had to feed their families, and if you had to break the law, you had to break the law, but your family came first and now it’s looked on as pride.

It’s a pretty simple equation: good water and good corn makes good whiskey, and these farmers knew what they were doing. Minnesota 13 was some of the best moonshine whiskey made.” Inspired by the late St. Cloud State professor Elaine Davis ‘ 2007 book “Minnesota 13: Stearns County’s Wet Wild Prohibition Days,” the doc tells a story about the triumphant human spirit, but which has stayed underground for generations.

“My grandfather was a moonshiner, turns out,” said Nathe, who lives in Los Angeles with her musician/composer husband John Fields, who did the music for “Minnesota 13.” “I knew my grandfather had a little shady past with cooking, because I found a newspaper clipping once in my grandmother’s photo album.

But, you know, big Catholic family, and I didn’t ask questions and I just put it back where I found it. I grew up in the Cities, but both my parents grew up in Stearns County. My mom grew up in Holdingford and my dad grew up in New Munich, and this is my mother’s family.

A couple years ago I was binge-watching ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and I kind of flashbacked to that photo album clipping. I started thinking about my grandfather, who would have been 20 during prohibition, and then I found Elaine Davis’ book. I devoured it, and I realized, ‘Oh my god, it wasn’t just my grandpa, it was the whole county.’ It was everybody.

And I recognized all these last names, all of my grandmother’s church lady friends. They were into some dangerous things, and then to find out that the church was behind it, and sort of protecting them ” Photo by John Fields Norah Shapiro and Kelly Nathe Nathe and Shapiro were at the end of making their award-winning documentary “Miss Tibet: Beauty In Exile” when they received funding for and started work on “Minnesota 13,” which also tells the modern-day tale of the Eleven Wells, the St.

• Paul distillery that currently produces the white whiskey,
• We knew we could tell the history story of it, the Prohibition story, and we knew we would have a built-in audience for it in Minnesota, but in order for it to be of interest outside of the niche audience, we wanted to tell the modern-day craft distilling story because it is so hot, and it is so interesting, and the process is so fascinating,” said Nathe.

“We fell in love with learning about it, and it was so much fun, just watching the process.” Depression-era Stearns County was populated by monks, missionaries, and German-Catholic farmers who created a culture that was, according to Tim Hoheisel of the Stearns History Museum in the film, “accepting of alcohol, because drinking beer, and the whole alcohol consumption part of the German culture itself was completely accepted, especially beer. Photo by Kelly Nathe Lee Egbert, co-founder of 11 Wells, mixing up tinctures. When hard times hit, farmers across Stearns County took to growing the so-called Minnesota 13 strain of corn. Then they used it to brew and sell whiskey as a way to save their family’s farms, and did so illegally until prohibition ended in 1933.

1. They had pride in doing whatever they needed to do to save the family farm,” said Nathe.
2. They weren’t whiskey drinkers, but they learned to be.
3. The sad thing is that nobody up there became Jim Beam or something.
4. Nobody kept the stills going.” “It’s an immigrant story in a lot of ways, and how people make do,” said Shapiro, who has spent the last two years filming a forthcoming documentary on former refugee-turned-Minnesota state representative Ilhan Omar’s journey to becoming the first Somali-American legislator in the country.

“As a storyteller, I’m really drawn to this question of the American Dream and what that is and what that means in the now. I’m interested in what people are confronted with in order to be here, and what hard work they will go through and what they will endure, and how much they will make out of so little off of the promise of what this country has to offer.” “Minnesota 13” cobbles together interviews with the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of bootleggers and farmers, and, in the end, paints a portrait of a fiercely industrious people who eluded the law and society’s mores in order to survive.

• Let’s be honest, Stearns County doesn’t have the best reputation, so it was fun to find a story to tell with happy memories,” said Nathe.
• Elaine said that when she was researching her book, she had doors slammed in her face because people didn’t want to talk about this for so long: ‘Don’t drag these skeletons out of the closet!’ Then after it was published she’d bring her book to little county fairs and she’d be selling it at a table and people would open up to her, ‘Why didn’t you talk to me and tell my family’s story?’ The feeling really started to shift towards this pride thing.’ “And now as you see in the movie, Holdingford has this sculpture in the center of town with the moonshining story on it and they have a covered bridge on the Lake Wobegon path with the story of Minnesota 13 on there.

Everywhere you go, there are bars and places called ‘Minnesota 13′ now. And people are still cookin’. Every time we go there, people come up to me and Norah with a little mason jar, like, ‘Heeere. Here’s some of the real deal.’ ”

Why did Minnesota 13 become so famous?

A new film explores Minnesota’s little-known bootlegging history by Published January 31, 2017 While prohibition in the United States is largely associated with stories of Al Capone and underground tunnels, Minnesota has its own bootlegging history. And one such enterprise was led by farmers in Stearns County — only an hour-and-a-half Northwest of the University of Minnesota.

The documentary “Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass” is returning to St. Anthony Main Theatre this week to continue telling the story of illegal whiskey. Through anecdotal stories, historian interviews and archived photos and footage, the documentary follows the creation of Minnesota 13 — the moonshine that inspired the film’s name.

According to the film, drinking played a strong role in the local German-Catholic culture, and the Stearns County farmers knew how to brew. At the same time, the corn crop wasn’t selling and families were starving as a result. Co-director of the film Kelly Nathe said these circumstances created the perfect storm for making the banned moonshine.

• What were they going to do?” Nathe said.
• They turned their corn into whiskey.” While Nathe’s family has a history with the local moonshine, she discovered the full account of the county’s bootlegging when she stumbled across Elaine Davis’ book, “Minnesota 13: ‘Wet’ Wild Prohibition Days.” ” did the footwork,” Nathe said of the book’s research.

“She connected the dots.” “The reason Minnesota 13 became so popular was because it was craftsmanship,” Nathe said. “It was well-made, it tasted good and it was safe — they knew what they were doing.” However, that historic quality and taste may be questionable when compared to today’s standards.

Bob McManus, owner of 11 Wells distillery, said the original recipes don’t hold up to the quality and flavor of today’s whiskey. But that’s to be expected. “You’re not going to get something really flavorful just from mixing sugar and corn,” McManus said. “The liquor of prohibition was never remembered fondly for its flavor.” 11 Wells has recrafted the Stearns County whiskey with the original Minnesota 13 corn seed, but offers an aged spirit in addition to the white original.

“It’s been fun to recreate this historic spirit and revive it,” McManus said. “I think it resonates with people.” The beverage is available at 11 Wells’ St. Paul location as well as at the St. Anthony Main Theater during the film’s stay. Drink specials are provided by the restaurant and bar next door, Pracna on Main.

• The only thing clearer than the liquor itself is the impact it left on the residents of Stearns County.
• As one of the film’s local testimonials said, “Minnesota 13 was some of the best moonshine whiskey made.”
• What: “Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass”
• When: Now – Thursday

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre 3, 115 S.E. Main St., Minneapolis

1. Cost: General Public – $8.50
2. Members – $5
3. Student w/ ID (Box Office Only) – $6

: A new film explores Minnesota’s little-known bootlegging history

What is the history of Minnesota 13 whiskey?

Minnesota 13 was the name of the moonshine whiskey made by farmers in Central Minnesota during Prohibition. In the heart of Stearns County, the whiskey was coveted across the country and the story inspired Phil Steger to start Brother Justus Whiskey Distillery in the Twin Cities.

What is the history of Minnesota whiskey?

Far North Spirits rye field in June Provided A century ago, Minnesota was the whiskey capital of the United States. Prohibition was law, and farmers in Stearns County had rebounded from plummeting crop prices by distilling corn into moonshine whiskey called Minnesota 13.

It was so good that it was coveted across the nation—and as far abreast as Hong Kong. But when Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the price of corn rebounded, and Minnesota whiskey disappeared. It took 90 years, but the American whiskey market is rollicking again. This time, it’s legal, and last year, the spirit accounted for $17 billion in sales,

Collectors have seized on the market, making super-premium whiskeys like Blanton’s and Buffalo Trace nearly impossible to procure and opening up a black market for craft spirits. And after a near-century of dormancy, Minnesota is ready to become a major player again.

What is the world’s oldest whisky?

Macallan ‘The Reach’ 1940 : This is considered to be the oldest whiskey in terms of time spent aging in the cask. It was aged for 81 years before bottling, and the first one in the collection sold for $340,000 at a 2022 Sotheby’s auction.

What is the oldest drinkable whiskey?

The Macallan 81 Year Old – The Macallan Reach is the oldest Scotch whisky in the world / ©The Macallan In early February 2022, The Macallan unveiled the oldest whisky ever released: The Macallan Reach, Distilled in 1940 during the Second World War, it spent 81 years building character in a single sherry seasoned cask before just 288 artisanal decanters were filled.

Costing $125,000 each, every decanter is cradled in a bronze sculpture of three hands. The artwork, created by sculptor Saskia Robinson, is intended to represent the characters in The Macallan’s history that had a hand in producing this prized liquid. Anyone who was lucky to get the whisky at its SRP certainly invested their money well.

The first bottle of The Macallan Reach to go up for auction sold for £300,000 ($340,000) at Sotheby’s in October 2022. Bottle No 3 of 288 was listed by The Macallan in an effort to raise funds for The Macallan Artisan Apprenticeship Fund.

What is the oldest whisky ever sold?

A decanter of the world’s oldest single malt whisky – distilled in Scotland during World War II – fetched a record price of nearly half a million pounds at auction yesterday. The Macallan “The Reach” 81-year-old comes from a single sherry seasoned oak cask laid down in 1940, making it the world’s oldest aged Scotch.

Released by the Speyside distillery in February last year in a limited edition of only 288 decanters, each was cradled on a bronze sculpture of three hands. One of the rare decanters went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong yesterday, where it was sold to an anonymous online bidder for £488,500.

The whisky, which had belonged to a private collector in Asia, more than doubled the £200,000 upper estimate after a five-minute bidding war between collectors online and on the phone. It smashed the previous record of £300,000 for a bottle of the world’s oldest aged whisky sold at auction, set at Sotheby’s in London in October last year.

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s head of whisky and spirits, said the bottle was “highly desirable for collectors”, adding: “It is always an honour to be able to offer the world’s oldest whisky at auction.” The Reach is the oldest aged whisky ever released by The Macallan, superseding its 78-year-old expression released in 2020 as part of the limited edition “Red Collection”.

Fowle said: “Once bidding in the saleroom opened, determined collectors drove the final sale price ever higher – proving that age, rarity and provenance are key.” The 41.6 per cent ABV whisky is described as deep auburn in colour with notes including dark chocolate, sweet cinnamon and aromatic peat on the nose, treacle toffee, bramble jam, liquorice and woodsmoke on the palate, and an “intensely rich, sweet and smoky” finish.

What is so special about moonshine?

What Is Moonshine? – Moonshine is a high-proof liquor produced illegally without government authorization. It is called moonshine because it is traditionally illegally distilled during the night to avoid being discovered by law enforcement. Moonshine is noted for having a very high alcohol content and being distilled in a variety of handmade, ramshackle stills usually found in the woods or mountains.

What is the story behind moonshine?

The History of Moonshine in the United States Inspection of Homemade Moonshine Moonshine has played an important role in American history. In fact, moonshine wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for American history. Mankind has produced alcohol for thousands of years. However, the American government was one of the first major governments in the world to tax and control the alcohol industry.

• The moment the government started to tax and control alcohol was also the moment the moonshine industry began.
• The term “moonshine” comes from the fact that illegal spirits were made under the light of the moon.
• In every part of America, early moonshiners worked their stills at night to avoid detection from authorities.

The United States started taxing liquors and spirits shortly after the American Revolution. In the years following the Revolution, the United States was struggling to pay the bills of the long war. Taxing liquors and spirits was an effective way to generate revenue for the government.

In the early frontier days of American history, moonshine wasn’t a hobby: it was a part-time job, Many farmers relied on moonshine manufacturing to survive bad years. Low-value corn crops could be turned into high-value whisky. Back in those days, Americans hated paying liquor taxes. They hated taxes so much that revenuers, the government agents who came to collect taxes, were often attacked, tarred, and feathered when they came to visit.

The tension between the government and its citizens eventually boiled over into a conflict called the Whisky Rebellion, which began in 1791 during George Washington’s presidency. Although the Whisky Rebellion was a violent resistance movement, fewer than 15 people were killed throughout the entire conflict. To suppress the rebellion, George Washington led a coalition of 13,000 militia troops into western Pennsylvania – which was the center of the rebellion and America’s frontier country at the time.

1. Washington successfully suppressed the Whisky Rebellion.
2. This marked an important point in U.S.
3. History because it proved that the newly formed country could suppress violent uprisings within its own territory.
4. But, ultimately, the rebels were successful because in 1801 Thomas Jefferson and his Republican Party repealed the tax to widespread public support.

During the Civil War, the American government once again imposed excise taxes on its citizens to fund the war. Revenuers and IRS officials cracked down harshly on moonshiners, leading to many violent conflicts throughout the country. During the Whisky Rebellion, moonshiners were portrayed as heroes standing against an oppressive government.

• After the Civil War, that attitude shifted.
• Many now saw moonshiners as violent criminals.
• In 1920, moonshiners across the country rejoiced: Prohibition was passed across the nation.
• Legal alcohol was no longer available anywhere.
• Overnight, illegal liquor became one of the most profitable businesses in America.

Organized crime took over the moonshine business and distillers sprung up across the country to keep up with demand. Producers began to sell watered-down moonshine based on sugar instead of corn. Speakeasies – complete with hidden doors, passwords, and secret escape routes – could be found in every city in America.

The good times couldn’t last forever for moonshiners. In 1933, Prohibition was repealed and the moonshine market dwindled to a shadow of its former self. Today, moonshine is viewed much differently than it was a few decades ago. Only a few developed countries in the world let residents legally produce their own home-brewed spirits.

New Zealand, for example, allows home distillation for personal consumption but not for private sale. Whether producing or running a clandestine distillery, you’re sipping on American history every time you pour yourself a glass of moonshine. : The History of Moonshine in the United States

What makes moonshine special?

It’s time to forget everything you know about moonshine – If you were born in Eastern Kentucky like I was, you might have become acquainted with moonshine at a young age, wondering, like I did, what that mysterious clear liquid was sloshing around in a mason jar every time you opened the freezer. My father told me to stay away from what he called “white lightning,” that if I drank it, it would probably put unwanted hair on my chest.

• I didn’t need convincing: Before I reached the double digits, he let me smell the contents of the jar.
• Needless to say, I recoiled instantly, thinking : Who would drink this? The answer, of course, ranges from whiskey lovers to cocktail fiends, with moonshine becoming increasingly popular over the last decade, outliving its reputation as a potent liquor that could leave you dead, blind or paralyzed.

So what exactly is moonshine, and how did it go from one of the most illicit liquors in the United States to one winning the hearts of mixologists and craft distillers? Moonshine purists define the spirit as a homemade, unaged whiskey, marked by its clear color, corn base and high alcohol content—sometimes peaking as high as 190 proof.

1. Traditionally, it was produced in a homemade still and bottled in a mason jar.
2. Scottish and Irish immigrants, many who settled in the southeastern throngs of the country, first brought moonshine to the United States in the 18th century.
3. The spirit quickly became a mainstay of Southern culture.
4. But just as its popularity crested, so too did the government’s interest in taxation.

It was Alexander Hamilton who imposed a tax on whiskey production in 1791, making any untaxed moonshine production illegal. Whiskey drinkers avoided taxation by making and buying moonshine at night, under the cover of darkness and the light of the moon—which some suspect gave rise to its name.

1. Just as Prohibition led to a rise in underground bars in the 1920s, the illegalization of untaxed moonshine production spawned generations of illicit whiskey producers for the next two-hundred years.
2. Not only was it produced illegally, but oftentimes it was done poorly, too—only contributing to its bad reputation.

That’s because it’s not easy to make. “Moonshine is one of America’s greatest spirits, but it’s really hard to make exceptionally well because it’s unaged,” moonshine maker Taras Hrabowsky explains. “With aged spirits, oak barrels are used to correct flavor notes.

1. It gets tricky to make moonshine that stands on its own, without the dominant oak characteristics that we usually think of when drinking a whiskey.
2. When you can find the good stuff, you’ll know why people love it.” Hrabowsky should know.
3. He’s part of a growing movement that’s putting good—and legal—moonshine on the map.

Although it’s still illegal to distill alcohol without a distilled spirits permit, mainstream liquor companies are reinventing the spirit, making their hooch in distilleries and marketing it to the masses.

What is the whiskey capital of the world?

Peoria’s economic importance as the whiskey capital of the United States helped the Union secure victory over the South in the Civil War. Drug store giant Walgreens built its profile as a licensed medicinal distributor of whiskey distilled here in the River City during Prohibition.

Peoria was once known as the alcohol distillery capital of the world. These and other interesting facts associated with Peoria’s rich history in the mass production of distilled spirits were toasted during an hour-long presentation by former Peoria Historical Society President Bernie Drake, an expert on Peoria’s whiskey history, at the Chillicothe Public Library.

Like good whiskey, Drake’s claims came with a high percentage of, ahem, proof. “Sometimes people object to Peoria being called the whiskey capital of the world, and technically they’re correct. Peoria was the alcohol capital of the world,” said Drake, referring to the boom period of Peoria distilleries- and the small group of rich and powerful distillery owners who left a lasting legacy in the River City- in the 1880s and the two decades that followed.

• Peoria’s distilling history actually began when settlers arrived in the early 1800s and frontier distilling was common, according to Drake.
• The settlers distilled “soft” or underdeveloped corn to produce a high-octane liquid commodity that could be traded for needed goods and services- or consumed.
• It was in 1843 or 1844 when the first commercial whiskey distillery was built along Peoria’s riverfront (near present-day State and Water streets) by Almiron Cole, a pioneer settler who died in 1891 at the age of 86.

Cole is interred in Peoria’s historic Springdale Cemetery. (Prior to the arrival of Cole’s whiskey distillery, early Peoria artisans had been brewing beer commercially for a decade). After Cole established his small whiskey works, the distillery business grew quite quickly in Peoria.

• By 1865 the number had grown to 14.
• From 1844 to 1919 there were no less than 73 distilleries paying taxes in Peoria County.
• During the Civil War Peoria was the alcohol capital of the United States.
• We were making more alcohol here than anywhere,” said Drake, before describing how, through taxes paid to the federal government used to fund war materials, Peoria distillers indirectly helped win the Civil War.

“Prior to the Civil War the only income the federal government had came from tariffs. (They’ve) got to pay for the war. In previous wars, such as the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the government would pass a temporary income tax to pay for the war. Tim Alexander / WCBU Items related to Peoria’s whiskey distilling legacy on display included a copper yeast jug, whiskey strainer, proof gauge, stencils, stamps and other barrel branding tools. Drake noted that although some whiskey “purists” might assert that the majority of the nation’s whiskey was made in Kentucky by the late 1800s, historical data refute that misconception.

“By 1880 the 200 distilleries located in Kentucky produced 15 million gallons of proof alcohol. In Peoria in 1880, we had 10 distilleries which produced 18 million proof gallons of alcohol. The difference? In Peoria, we had industrialized the production of alcohol,” he said. By 1880, a host of natural and social attributes had made Peoria the ideal location for a booming “distillery row” that would satisfy much of the nation’s alcohol demand- and also lead to new and vibrant livestock feed and stockyard industries that provided thousands of jobs for area workers.

First, Drake explained, the Illinois River and, more importantly, the underlying SanKoty Aquifer, provided a more-than-adequate water supply for dozens of distillers and other related industries. “The aquifer was the difference. From springs, it provided a constant stream of cool, limestone-filtered water that was known to be beneficial to the whiskey distilling process,” said Drake.

• In addition, as a rail, boat and wagon hub surrounded by rich crop land, Peoria’s riverfront offered an ideal location for the river-dependent distilling industry.
• Finally, the warm and welcoming attitude reportedly displayed by Peoria leaders and citizens towards prospective distillery investors- many of whom came from Chicago- all but ensured Peoria’s place in history as the whiskey capital of the world.

Many of Peoria’s “whiskey barons” were instrumental in shaping the early political, social and cultural foundations of the city. The short list of influential distillers includes Chicago transplant Joseph Greenhut, the five Hungarian Woolner Brothers and the Clarke Brothers, capitalist investors who also left behind lasting physical legacies in the form of stately homes, civic buildings, commissioned artwork and magnificent burial crypts that overlook the Illinois River Valley from Springdale Cemetery.

• Greenhut’s mansion is now an apartment-condominium complex located at the intersections of Moss, Sheridan, and High streets.
• A Civil War veteran, he donated the money for the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Hall.
• He was also the primary donor for the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War monument down at the (county) courthouse, and he was also into art.

Peorian Fritz Treibel’s sculpture, Love Knows no Caste, is now on display in the Peoria City Hall. It was commissioned by Joseph Greenhut,” said Drake. Woolner Bros. and Clarke Bros. paraphernalia such as authentic bottles and from their distilleries are still selling on eBay, according to Drake. Tim Alexander / WCBU Bernie Drake, past president of the Peoria Historical Society, led a presentation on the city’s reputation as the ‘Whiskey Capital of the Nation” on March 10 at the Chillicothe Public Library. Another interesting factoid revealed by Drake: due to a special exemption granted by the federal government to select Peoria distillers, some River City distilleries remained in legal operation during Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933.

• The distilleries’ primary customers were individuals who were given pharmacy prescriptions for “medicinal” whiskey by their doctors.
• Among the entrepreneurial beneficiaries of the “medical whiskey” law during Prohibition was Galesburg native Charles Walgreen, who opened his first pharmacy in 1901 on Chicago’s south side.

“This was a big loophole in the prohibition law and it is where Walgreens got their start. They expanded all over the Midwest by being a drugstore that could provide medicinal alcohol made in Peoria,” said Drake. The former Peoria Historical Society president was accompanied in his presentation by Maureen Naughtin, artifact curator for the Peoria Historical Society.

1. Nautin brought along historical items including a copper yeast jug thought to have been salvaged from Cole’s first Peoria distillery, whiskey strainer and proof gauge, and barrel branding implements, stamps and templates from Peoria’s early distilleries.
2. The Chillicothe Public Library’s series on Peoria’s whiskey history, That’s the Spirit! concludes on Thursday, March 24, from 6-7 p.m.

The topic is modern distilling, and whiskey sampling will be available. RSVP to Catherine Barnett, programming librarian, at (309) 274-2719 to pre-register for the free event. On Sunday, May 1, Drake will offer a presentation about the Peoria Whiskey Trust, a coalition of powerful distillery owners based in Peoria and led by Greenhut that colluded to control the amount of alcohol the nation’s distilleries produced- and its price.

• The event will be held at the historic Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Hall, 942 NE Glen Oak Avenue, in downtown Peoria.
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What is the whisky capital of the world?

Campbeltown, a small town on the Mull of Kintyre peninsula, was once nicknamed ‘Spiritsville’ or ‘Whiskyopolis’ and even ‘The Whisky Capital of the World!

What is the oldest whiskey in America?

Old Overholt is America’s oldest continually maintained brand of whiskey, was founded in West Overton, Pennsylvania, in 1810. Old Overholt is a rye whiskey distilled by A.

Can I drink 100 year old whiskey?

Can You Get Sick from Drinking Old Whiskey? – If you found an old bottle of whiskey in the back of a liquor cabinet and want to give it a try, have no fear: In general, old liquor will not make you sick like other expired items. The only risk it poses is delivering a dull taste and underwhelming drinking experience.

What is the most aged alcohol in the world?

1762 Gautier Cognac – Another Guinness World Record holder, this cognac is 260 years old and was found between 1880 and 1890 at Lachaise, Cognac, France. It was sold at an auction in New York, the USA on 30 April 2014. sothebys

Who invented whisky?

The Debate about “Ireland vs Scotland” – To this day, Scots and Irishmen debate over who invented whisky or, in this case, which country lays claim to the spirit. The Irish say it came from the Christian monks returning from Arabia in 600 AD. There are other stories that say the Irish introduced it to their Scottish neighbours, who then perfected the art.

• However, there is some evidence to suggest distillation came directly to Scotland from the Christian missionary monks.
• But, no one has been able to definitively prove any of these claims.
• They haven’t been able to show that the farmers in the Highlands discovered distillation methods either.
• So, the debate remains.

Take a journey around the world with whisky, with this article – https://www.whiskyflavour.com/blog/take-a-journey-around-the-world-with-whisky

Does whiskey go bad?

Does Whiskey Go Bad? – Unopened whiskey doesn’t go bad. Whiskey that hasn’t been opened lasts indefinitely, but whiskey can expire. You just have to open the bottle. Most whiskey scientists believe that an opened bottle of whiskey lasts about 1 to 2 years—if it’s half full.

What alcohol was invented first?

The Earliest Alcoholic Beverage in the World Chemical analyses recently confirmed that the earliest alcoholic beverage in the world was a mixed fermented drink of rice, honey, and hawthorn fruit and/or grape. The residues of the beverage, dated ca.7000–6600 BCE, were recovered from early pottery from Jiahu, a Neolithic village in the Yellow River Valley.

This beverage currently predates the earliest evidence of grape wine from the Middle East by more than 500 years. Chemical analyses of ancient organics absorbed, and preserved, in pottery jars from the Neolithic village of Jiahu, in Henan province, Northern China, have revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey, and fruit was being produced as early as 9,000 years ago, approximately the same time that barley beer and grape wine were beginning to be made in the Middle East.

In addition, liquids more than 3,000 years old, remarkably preserved inside tightly lidded bronze vessels, were chemically analyzed. These vessels from the capital city of Anyang and an elite burial in the Yellow River Basin, dating to the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties (ca.1250-1000 BCE), contained specialized rice and millet “wines.” The beverages had been flavored with herbs, flowers, and/or tree resins, and are similar to herbal wines described in the Shang dynasty oracle inscriptions.

The new discoveries, made by an international, multi-disciplinary team of researchers including the Penn Museum’s archaeochemist Dr. Patrick McGovern, provide the first direct chemical evidence for early fermented beverages in ancient Chinese culture, thus broadening our understanding of the key technological and cultural roles that fermented beverages played in China.

The discoveries and their implications for understanding ancient Chinese culture are published in the PNAS Early Edition (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences): by Patrick E. McGovern, Juzhong Zhang, Jigen Tang, Zhiquing Zhang, Gretchen R. Hall, Robert A.

• Moreau, Alberto Nuñez, Eric D.
• Butrym, Michael P.
• Richards, Chen-shan Wang, Guangsheng Cheng, Zhijun Zhao, and Changsui Wang. Dr.
• McGovern worked with this team of researchers, associated with the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, the Institute of Archaeology in Beijing, the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, the Firmenich Corporation, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany), and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. McGovern first met with archaeologists and scientists, including his co-authors on the paper, in China in 2000, returning there in 2001 and 2002.

Because of the great interest in using modern scientific techniques to investigate a crucial aspect of ancient Chinese culture, collaboration was initiated and samples carried back to the U.S. for analysis. Chemical tests of the pottery from the Neolithic village of Jiahu was of special interest, because it is some of the earliest known pottery from China.

This site was already famous for yielding some of the earliest musical instruments and domesticated rice, as well as possibly the earliest Chinese pictographic writing. Through a variety of chemical methods including gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, and stable isotope analysis, finger-print compounds were identified, including those for hawthorn fruit and/or wild grape, beeswax associated with honey, and rice.

The prehistoric beverage at Jiahu, Dr. McGovern asserts, paved the way for unique cereal beverages of the proto-historic 2nd millennium BCE, remarkably preserved as liquids inside sealed bronze vessels of the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties. The vessels had become hermetically sealed when their tightly fitting lids corroded, preventing evaporation.

Numerous bronze vessels with these liquids have been excavated at major urban centers along the Yellow River, especially from elite burials of high-ranking individuals. Besides serving as burial goods to sustain the dead in the afterlife, the vessels and their contents can also be related to funerary ceremonies in which living intermediaries communicated with the deceased ancestor and gods in an altered state of consciousness after imbibing a fermented beverage.

“The fragrant aroma of the liquids inside the tightly lidded jars and vats, when their lids were first removed after some three thousand years, suggested that they indeed represented Shang and Western Zhou fermented beverages, ” Dr. McGovern noted. Samples of liquid inside vessels from the important capital of Anyang and the Changzikou Tomb in Luyi county were analyzed.

The combined archaeochemical, archaeobotanical and archaeological evidence for the Changzikou Tomb and Anyang liquids point to their being fermented and filtered rice or millet “wines,” either jiu or chang, its herbal equivalent, according to the Shang Dynasty oracle inscriptions.

Specific aromatic herbs (e.g., wormword), flowers (e.g., chrysanthemum), and/or tree resins (e.g., China fir and elemi) had been added to the wines, according to detected compounds such as camphor and alpha-cedrene, beta-amyrin and oleanolic acid, as well as benzaldehyde, acetic acid, and short-chain alcohols characteristic of rice and millet wines.

Both jiu and chang of proto-historic China were likely made by mold saccharification, a uniquely Chinese contribution to beverage-making in which an assemblage of mold species are used to break down the carbohydrates of rice and other grains into simple, fermentable sugars.

• Yeast for fermentation of the simple sugars enters the process adventitiously, either brought in by insects or settling on to large and small cakes of the mold conglomerate (qu) from the rafters of old buildings.
• As many as 100 special herbs, including wormwood, are used today to make qu, and some have been shown to increase the yeast activity by as much as seven-fold.

For Dr. McGovern, who began his role in the Chinese wine studies in 2000, this discovery offers an exciting new chapter in our rapidly growing understanding of the importance of fermented beverages in human culture around the world. In 1990, he and colleagues Rudolph H.

Michel and Virginia R. Badler first made headlines with the discovery of what was then the earliest known chemical evidence of wine, dating to ca.3500-3100 BCE, from Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran (see “Drink and Be Merry!: Infrared Spectroscopy and Ancient Near Eastern Wine” in Organic Contents of Ancient Vessels: Materials Analysis and Archaeological Investigation, eds.W.R.

Biers and P.E. McGovern, MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology, vol.7, Philadelphia: MASCA, University of Pennsylvania Museum, University of Pennsylvania). That finding was followed up by the earliest chemically confirmed barley beer in 1992, inside another vessel from the same room at Godin Tepe that housed the wine jars.

In 1994, chemical testing confirmed resinated wine inside two jars excavated by a Penn archaeological team at the Neolithic site of Hajji Firuz Tepe, Iran, dating to ca.5400 BCE and some 2000 years earlier than the Godin Tepe jar. Dr. McGovern is author of Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture (Princeton University Press, 2003).

Dr. McGovern’s research was made possible by support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the National Science Foundation (2000-2001; award BCS-9911128). The GC-MS analyses were carried out in the Chemistry Department of Drexel University through the kind auspices of J.P.

• Honovich. Dr.
• McGovern also thanks the Institute of Archaeology in Beijing and Zhengzhou for logistical support and providing samples for analysis.
• Qin Ma Hui, Wuxiao Hong, Hsing-Tsung Huang, Shuicheng Li, Guoguang Luo, Victor Mair, Harold Olmo, Vernon Singleton, and Tiemei Chen variously advised on or facilitated the research.

Changsui Wang, chairperson of the Archaeometry program at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei (Anhui Province) was untiring in his enthusiasm for the project, and personally accompanied Dr. McGovern on travels to excavations and institutes, where collaborations and meetings with key scientists and archaeologists were arranged.

What happened in Minnesota in 2013?

| | | | – In 2013, Minnesota lawmakers ushered in a new era of marriage equality and butted heads over such issues as the MNsure health insurance exchange and funding for the proposed Vikings stadium, which ultimately broke ground in December. But elsewhere, Minnesotans’ acts of kindness captured our attention, from the Dairy Queen manager whose generosity after a blind customer was robbed of $20 earned him Warren Buffet’s commendation, to the man who threw $1,000 into the Mall of America rotunda on Black Friday,

and was subsequently arrested. We reported with heavy hearts unimaginable tragedies, such as when a mother’s car plunged into a pond, killing 2 of the 5 children inside. However, from some tragedies sprung new hope, as when “Clouds,” the song young Zach Sobiech wrote when he found out he had terminal osteosarcoma, climbed Billboard and iTunes’ charts following his death.

Controversies raged from many corners – after high schoolers were disciplined for shooting their own “Harlem Shake” viral videos, after Adrian Peterson stated that he was “not with” gay marriage, after a lesson on structural racism chided some students.

But, in the end, many of the stories that will endure from 2013 highlighted that quintessential Minnesota character. This is, after all, the land where a 4-year-old can become the world’s cutest mayor, where kids can enjoy a snow day in May, and where a Prince sighting is always a potential soundcheck away.

Here are some of the top headlines from 2013 as WCCO originally reported on them:

When did Minnesota lower the drinking age?

Drinking Age –

Persons under 21: 340A.503 Misdemeanors: 340A.703 Petty offenders: 260B.235 Underage drinking and driving (Not a Drop Law): 169A.33 Confections containing alcohol: 31.76 History: Prior to 1973, the drinking age was the age of legal adulthood (age of majority), which was 21 ( Minnesota Statutes 1971, section 645.45 ). In 1973, the age of majority was lowered from 21 to 18. This dropped the drinking age to 18 ( Laws of Minnesota 1973, chapter 725, effective June 1, 1973). The legal drinking age was raised to 19 in 1976 ( Laws of Minnesota 1976, chapter 66, effective September 1, 1976). The drinking age was raised to the current age of 21 in 1986 ( Laws of Minnesota 1986, chapter 330 ). It included a grandfather clause: persons who were 19 years old by September 1, 1986 were treated as 21 year olds for liquor law purposes.

What are 4 key events in the history of Minnesota?

History >> US Geography >> US State History Native Americans Minnesota has been inhabited by people for thousands of years including ancient cultures such as the Woodland people and the Mississippian culture. When the Europeans arrived in the 1600s, Native American tribes lived throughout the region. The largest Native American tribe in the area was the Dakota Sioux, They hunted buffalo and farmed crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Other smaller tribes included the Ojibwa, the Cree, and the Cheyenne. Fish Lake in Kanabec County, Minnesota by Smoove Europeans Arrive The first Europeans to arrive in Minnesota were the French. Explorers such as Pierre Radisson and Medard des Groseilleirs first visited the region in the 1650s. These early explorers mapped out the coast of Lake Superior and claimed the land for France.

• The French made an agreement with the Ojibwa peoples to trade for furs in 1671.
• French trader Daniel Graysolon, Sieur Du Luth explored the area and, in 1679, he helped to negotiate a peace agreement between the Dakota and Ojibwa tribes.
• The city of Duluth is named after him.
• Changing Hands After the French and Indian war between the British and French ended in 1763, the British took over the eastern portion of Minnesota.

However, the land was only in British hands for 20 years when it became a territory of the United States after the Revolutionary War. In 1803, the United States purchased the rest of Minnesota from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Explorers After buying the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson sent out explorers to learn more about the vast new land. Henry Schoolcraft by Wellstood and Peters In 1832, explorer Henry Schoolcraft finally found the source of the Mississippi River with the help of the Ojibwa peoples. He named the source Lake Itasca. Later, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would write The Song of Hiawatha based on Indian legends and stories told by Schoolcraft about Minnesota.

Twin Cities The first major U.S. outpost in Minnesota was Fort Snelling which was completed in 1825. It was built at the point where the Minnesota and the Mississippi Rivers come together. Two major cities eventually were built up on each side of the Mississippi River. The city on the west side was called Minneapolis and the city on the east side St.

Paul. Today these two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities and are the two largest cities in Minnesota. Becoming a State In 1849, Minnesota became a territory of the United States. Over the next two decades, numerous immigrants from northern European countries such as Germany and Sweden settled in Minnesota. Minneapolis, Minnesota by Jim Bean Timeline

1650s – First Europeans visit and map out portions of Minnesota.1763 – The U.S. gains eastern Minnesota after winning the French and Indian War.1803 – The U.S. buys western Minnesota from the French as part of the Louisiana Purchase.1805 – Zebulon Pike explores the region.1825 – Fort Snelling is established at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.1832 – Explorer Henry Schoolcraft finds the source of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca.1849 – The U.S. creates the Minnesota Territory.1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state.1862 – The Dakota War was fought between the United States and the Dakota Sioux.1889 – The Mayo Clinic is founded in Rochester by Dr. William Mayo.1965 – Herbert Humphrey becomes vice-president of the United States.1992 – The Mall of America is completed in Bloomington.1998 – Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler and Navy Seal, is elected governor.

More US State History: Works Cited History >> US Geography >> US State History

What did it mean that Minnesota became a territory?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Territory of Minnesota
Organized incorporated territory of the United States
Location of Minnesota Territory within the U.S. including U.S. state boundaries
Capital	St. Paul
History
Government
• Type	Organized incorporated territory
Governor
• 1849–1853	Alexander Ramsey
• 1853–1857	Willis A. Gorman
• 1857–1858	Samuel Medary
Legislature	Minnesota Territorial Legislature
History
• Split from Iowa and Wisconsin territories	March 3, 1849
• Statehood	May 11, 1858
Preceded by Succeeded by Iowa Territory Wisconsin Territory /td>	Minnesota Unorganized territory

/td>

/td>

The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and the western portion became unorganized territory and shortly after was reorganized as part of the Dakota Territory,