German immigrants were good whiskey makers and innovative, efficient farmers who provided much of the abundance of grain for food and distilling. But it was the Scots--Irish immigrants who brought passion to the craft. They spread out across the Mid-Atlantic, mostly following the Appalachian Mountains as they sought freedom to produce spirits with grains that grew well in America. Whiskey and the opportunity to make whiskey was freedom! This concept was spliced into the genetic code of Scots--Irish immigrants and captured by the poet Robert Burns in “The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer (1786) where he stated, “Freedom an’ Whisky gang thegither!”. They brought the thirst for freedom and whiskey with them. Small distilleries were prolific.  At the turn of the 19th century; one county, York County, Pennsylvania, had 280 distillers. They supplied spirits to neighbors and local taverns which were the epicenter of social and business life. Even breaks during Sunday worship included a “bracer” or “pick-me-up” as respite from the pew of an extended day-long service. Taverns and churches were often conveniently co-located! A quick perusal of 18th or 19th century tavern ledgers or day books, like the one from Dills Tavern, confirm the pivotal role of whiskey in daily affairs. 

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Spirits, more specifically whiskey, have been a timeless social lubricant. It inspires, enhances, and extends conversations from the heads and hearts of those eager to talk of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness or just tales from the routine grind of daily existence. Sharing a whiskey is a starting place for the creation of a common bond. This simplicity of partaking in a dram with another person at a specific spot on the space-time continuum is a once in a lifetime experience. Recognition of whiskey’s role in initiating, strengthening, and maintaining the bonds of friendship is worthy of respect… and another repartee from the Ploughman Bard Robert Burns: