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History of Bourbon
- Narrated by: Ken Albala
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Lecture
- Categories: History, Americas
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Publisher's Summary
Is bourbon the quintessential American liquor? Bourbon is not just alcohol—the amber-colored drink is deeply ingrained in American culture and tangled in American history. From the early days of raw corn liquor to the myriad distilleries that have proliferated around the country today, bourbon is a symbol of the United States.
This course traces bourbon's entire history, from the 1700s, with Irish, Scottish, and French settlers setting up stills and making distilled spirits in the New World, through today's booming resurgence.
On their tour of bourbon's fascinating, turbulent, and uniquely American evolution, listeners will explore the mysterious origins of the whiskey’s name and meet the men and women who have been championed as its inventors and made it so popular - from Daniel Boone's cousin and Baptist minister Elijah Craig to Jacob Beam and Evan Williams.
In this 10-lecture journey through the story of an undeniably American libation, listeners will:
- Hear the stories behind the earliest bourbon whiskies right up to the current "bourbon bubble"
- Learn how a contemplative spirit went from agricultural product to industrial commodity
- Explore how - and why - bourbon played such a large role in the years of the early republic
- Get the facts on when and why Congress passed whiskey-protection laws
- Discover the surprising importance of bourbon distilleries during World War II, when the spirit became war material
- Go inside the Golden Age of Bourbon - a remarkable proliferation of new brands and niche markets happening now
- Witness the growth of brands like Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Bulleit Bourbon, and Old Taylor
- Gain insights into why distilled spirits, like clothes and cars, project a message about who we are and the cultures to which we belong
Join Dr. Ken Albala, a history professor who has written numerous books on food, as he lays out in expert detail the critical role bourbon has played throughout the cultural and political history of the nation.
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Our favorite moments from History of Bourbon

About the Professor
Dr. Ken Albala is Professor of History at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he teaches food history and the history of early modern Europe. He is also a visiting Professor at Boston University, where he teaches an advanced food history course in the gastronomy program. Dr. Albala earned an MA in History from Yale University and a PhD in History from Columbia University.
He is the author or editor of 16 volumes on food. His books include the four-volume Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia; Three World Cuisines: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, which won the 2013 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Foreign Cuisine Book; Food in Early Modern Europe; and Beans: A History. Dr. Albala is also co-editor of the journal Food, Culture & Society and general editor of the series Studies in Food and Gastronomy. In 2009, Dr. Albala won the Faye and Alex G. Spanos Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of the Pacific.
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What listeners say about History of Bourbon
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Wes
- 04-14-20
Expected a lot more about bourbon
The title misled me. As an overall description of liquor it’s not bad. But it’s not a “history” of Bourbon.
32 people found this helpful
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- TimMan
- 06-06-20
History of Bourbon? Not so much.
I figured when I ordered this book it would be strictly about the history of bourbon. I couldn't even make it through the second lecture as he kept going on and on about different types of alcohol and time periods not even remotely related to bourbon.
25 people found this helpful
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- R. MCRACKAN
- 06-05-20
One of my favorite audible originals to date
This course on the history of bourbon was perfect. It was informative, entertaining, just the right length, and very fair and level headed. Bourbon is a topic where you can find all manner of pretentious people as well as the opposite. Albala gave a even and factual look at this industry which has become drunk (ha!) on its own lore. Especially as he worked his way up to the modern day climate, I appreciated perspective given by the historical information. Recommended.
22 people found this helpful
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- M J
- 03-23-20
A History that needs to be told!
This was a great introduction to spirits (liquor) world. The past, present and future by someone who has spent a great amount of time researching. He even adds in a few drinking songs for good measure.
22 people found this helpful
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- 7103
- 05-04-20
Quick lesson on the history of Bourbon and current status
The History of Bourbon is very well written and a fun series of lectures. Well done!
13 people found this helpful
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- Wayne
- 06-12-20
The Great Courses book
HISTORY OF BOURBON by Professor Ken Albala is superb in addition to being educational. It is likely my favorite of the Audible freebies. The book is presented as a series of short lectures. Albala does a fine job of narrating his own work.
11 people found this helpful
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- Zsleepy
- 06-07-20
The History of Bourbon is an Hour into the Lecture
The focus on Bourbon really starts in chapter 4 , about an hour in. The audible is lecture style so it includes some tangents and omits some details - if it was a written book.
10 people found this helpful
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- Vince Boyer
- 06-07-20
Excellent History of an American Beverage
Well researched, well written and read course on the hows and why’s of bourbon even if you aren’t a fan.
8 people found this helpful
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- Timothy Haitsma
- 06-07-20
History in a glass
Picked this up and was pleasantly enjoyed the history of alcohol (in the general sense) before focusing in on the topic of bourbon. It’s a good way to introduce people of how the beverage is made and the difference between the “sour mesh” and “sweet mesh” and explains how blended whiskeys are made. It’s worth having a notebook and pen on hand to jot down notes while enjoying a nice bourbon or whiskey.
8 people found this helpful
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- Mary C. Crawford-Todd
- 06-06-20
Great for a road trip.
The historical reference in the first 2 chapters are great. I want to go to Heaven Hill and do the tour.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anna Nym
- 04-22-22
Good course
i enjoyed listening to this course and learning about bourbon as well as whiskey in general. I enjoyed the narration, however found that Dr. Albala spoke a little bit fast at times. altogether, it was very informative and got me interested in the large variety there is.
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- Oded Spitzer
- 04-04-22
very good narration
I really liked how it feels he's just talking to class rather than reading out of a page
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- Anonymous User
- 04-18-22
Bourbon, ahhh sweet Bourbon
an interesting insight, started a bit slowwww, but Ken does love his subject , and is truly a non biased but engaging lecturer. in many of the the Great Courses you feel and sense the lecturers innate bias. Probably to be expected from an experienced well studied pedagog, AND YET Ken is engaging, informative, and mildly humorous. we'll worth listening to, regardless of NPR scoring. thanks for time enjoyably spent
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- Anonymous User
- 01-03-22
All is revealed
The Bourbon distillers are not far from the Wineries in charging absorbingly high prices
fake products pumped up by prestige and artificially created images such as fancy bottles and pouches . I’ll will never pay high prices again for so-called aged products, especially not the super highly priced bottles, packed for export to the super rich Russian and Asian markets. Och and the Arabian markets not to forget .
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- Anonymous User
- 11-15-21
Great read
Great book. Very interesting and well presented. The history of bourbon and whiskey was fascinating.