Author: jbkirktn

During the 1800s J.B. Kirk was a prominent whiskey distiller in Woodbury, Tennessee. He grew his own grain for his mash bill, used the limestone filtered water from his spring, and utilized the diverse Tennessee weather for his aging whiskey. It sounds simple enough, but from growing crops to aging barrels, depending on Tennessee weather is risky business. But more times than not, the volatile Tennessee climate turned out to be a hidden ally, breathing life and complexity into the barrels of aging whiskey, shaping the soul of his spirit.

The newspaper articles written about J.B. Kirk sound like tales from the Wild West: vandals at Kirk’s Distillery, murder in Kirk’s Saloon, secret deals with the Attorney General, and pardons by the Governor himself. After prohibition finally extinguished the flame producing his whiskey, it would be more than a century before his descendants would revive the brand. Whiskey of Tennessee delivers a comprehensive historical biography alongside a firsthand chronicle of how his descendants finally brought the historic brand back to life.