In Kentucky, there are more barrels of bourbon aging in rickhouses than there are people living in the state.
A century ago, that would have seemed impossible.
Bourbon Reborn tells the dramatic true story of how America's native spirit rose from frontier experiment to global powerhouse-only to collapse under Prohibition, fade during decades of decline, and then roar back into prominence in a billion-dollar revival that reshaped the modern spirits industry.
From the limestone-filtered waters of 18th-century Kentucky to the boardrooms of multinational beverage empires, this book uncovers the forces that nearly destroyed bourbon-and the innovators who refused to let it die.
Inside, you'll discover:
- How Scotch-Irish settlers transformed corn into a distinctly American whiskey
- The political battles and fraud scandals that led to the landmark Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897
- The devastation of Prohibition and the handful of distilleries that survived
- The decades-long slump when vodka replaced bourbon in America's glass
- The explosive craft revival that turned forgotten warehouses into global destinations
- How premiumization, billion-dollar acquisitions, and international demand made bourbon a luxury symbol worldwide
- The climate, agricultural, and economic pressures that now threaten its second golden age
More than a history of a drink, Bourbon Reborn is the story of American resilience-of farmers, distillers, entrepreneurs, and risk-takers who rebuilt an industry barrel by barrel.
For readers of business history, American culture, food and drink nonfiction, and anyone fascinated by how a product becomes an icon, this is a sweeping account of reinvention, ambition, and survival.
The barrels aging today will define the next decade.
Will bourbon's revival endure-or is another reckoning on the horizon?
