American Whiskey Trail Northbound
Drink in the History in New York and Pennsylvania.
Face facts! Alcohol has always been a part of the American landscape. Through good times and bad, war and peace, Prohibition and even a Rebellion, whiskey was there!
Colonists gathered corn from Native Americans, mixed it with rye and barley and made whiskey. They gathered at inns to plot a Revolution as Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence by the light of a tavern’s candles. The Whiskey Rebellion was one of the first tests of federal power in the new republic.
In the early 20th century a little thing called Prohibition forever stamped an era of speakeasies and gangsters into the history books.
While the American Whiskey Trail (AWT) southern route takes you to working distilleries in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - do not despair.
You can still get a good drink along the northern route.
Where?
Head to the canyons of lower Manhattan, and buried deep among towering towers of the Financial District exists a small brick building.
Fraunces Tavern, at the corner of Pearl and Broad Streets, has been a fixture in the Wall Street area since farm animals, not financial analysts, roamed the terrain.
Today the tavern, although not the original, is still a popular gathering place. I-pods have replaced powered wigs as head accessories, and women are now allowed in. But the never-ending importance of individual self-determination still prevails with the declaration of:
Fraunces Tavern, in the spirit of freedom and independence, does not enforce a dress code.
So plant your flip-flops next to a pair of wingtips – it is your right!
Allow time for a museum visit, and learn more about the journey of the AWT.
Now cross the Hudson River; and steer towards Pennsylvania.
Farmers from the grain rich fields of western Pennsylvania were among the most vocal in 1791 when Congress demanded each still be registered, and imposed a hefty six to nine cent tax on every barrel of whiskey to help pay recent war debts. Instead a second revolution began. The Whiskey Rebellion spread throughout the frontier.
The first shots rang out in 1794 at the Oliver Miller Homestead, 10 miles from present-day Pittsburgh, and located in Allegheny County's South Park. On Sunday afternoons from April to December visitors can discover the pioneer lifestyle from period dressed guides. Highlights of this attraction include a reconstructed shingle-roofed log cabin, the Stone House, a blacksmith forge and gardens. The important artifact is a portion of the Millers’ 18th-century still. For this blood was spilled.
The most hated local citizen was the tax collector. Nearby is the former home of John Neville. Neville had given Woodville Plantation to his son, following the construction of Neville's new home. Unfortunately his position as conveyor of bad news and big taxes caused someone to torch the home. Perhaps whiskey was used as starter fluid.
Midway between Pittsburgh and the West Virginia border you will find the town of Scottdale and the West Overton Museums. An agricultural village with 18 buildings, the distillery illustrates the entrepreneurial spirit of America.
Henry Overholt, following the hubbub of the alcoholic uproar, decided that his future lay in production of whiskey. Following the whiskey tax’s repeal in 1803 he established a distillery. His sons soon convinced him to upgrade the facility and sell commercially and eventually 200 gallons of rye whiskey were rolling out per day. While no longer made in Pennsylvania – Old Overholt is still in production.
So if you like your history with a twist - the American Whiskey Trail is the path to take.
For more on the American Whiskey Trail's southern route - see the SE USA page.
www.whiskeyrebellion.org/miller
