Rotgut Whiskey

 

 Rotgut whiskey in the Old West was notorious for its rough and often unpleasant character. It earned its name from the harsh taste and low quality that often resulted from hastily produced or poorly distilled spirits. Unlike the smoother, more refined whiskeys of today, rotgut was synonymous with cheapness and sometimes even danger to those who imbibed it. The production methods were rudimentary at best, often lacking proper aging or filtration processes, leading to a drink that could burn going down and leave a lingering bitterness.

In the rough-and-tumble world of the Old West, rotgut whiskey found its place in the saloons and frontier settlements where cowboys, outlaws, and miners gathered. It was often the drink of choice not because of its quality, but because it was affordable and readily available. For many, especially those on the fringes of society, a shot of rotgut was a way to briefly escape the hardships of life on the frontier, even if it meant enduring the unpleasant taste and the consequences that often followed.

The effects of rotgut whiskey were not just limited to its taste. Due to its dubious production methods and often high alcohol content, it was known to cause severe hangovers and sometimes even health issues among those who consumed it regularly. Despite its drawbacks, rotgut played a significant role in shaping the social and cultural fabric of the Old West. It was a symbol of the hard-drinking, rough-and-ready lifestyle that characterized the era, and it found its way into countless stories, both real and fictional, of the American frontier.

As the West became more settled and laws governing alcohol production and sale were enforced, the era of rotgut whiskey gradually faded. It was replaced by better-quality spirits produced by legitimate distilleries that adhered to higher standards of production. However, the legacy of rotgut whiskey remains as a testament to the rugged individualism and sometimes harsh realities of life in the Old West. It serves as a reminder of the extremes people endured and the lengths they would go to seek solace or escape in a time and place where survival often depended on toughness and resilience.

Sandra
 

 

The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

Distilled spirits, especially whiskey, helped to shape the Old West. Whiskey’s ingredients were easy to produce, namely corn, wheat, barley, and rye, and as its value rose it became a popular trade item.

As demand increased, some businessmen doctored their supplies with ingredients such as tobacco juice, kerosene, and grain alcohol, leading to the term “rotgut” when describing the liquor. This “rectified” whiskey required no aging and was consumed immediately following production, as opposed to straight whiskey which was aged in new oak barrels for a minimum of two years.

In towns such as Tombstone, Arizona, popular whiskey drinks included Whiskey Cocktails, Whiskey Slings, Whiskey Punches, Rock and Rye, and Stone Fences.

But as the nineteenth century was ending, change was afoot. The Bottled in Bond Act was enacted in 1897 to regulate the sale of whiskey. The legal regulation is part of the U. S. government’s Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits. It stipulates that the liquor must be the product of one distillation season (January-June or July- December) by one distiller at one distillery. It must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. supervision for at least four years and bottled at 100 proof/50% alcohol by volume. Only spirits produced in the U.S. may be designated as bonded.

Some consumers consider this to be an endorsement of quality, but some producers of whiskey believe the regulation to be archaic today. But the goal was to insure a higher quality of whiskey to the consumer.

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Don’t miss my new western coming July 2024. 

Pre-order THE NIGHTHAWK now.

 

Sophie Ryan’s dream of working for a newspaper has come true. Accompanied by her cousin, Lucas Blackmore, a newly appointed U.S. Deputy Marshal, she arrives in Jerome, one of the richest mining towns in America. And one of the most remote. Although she’s been hired to report for the Jerome Mining News on education and cultural issues, she soon finds herself immersed in something more serious when she finds an enigmatic injured man in the Black Hills claiming to be an ornithologist.

U.S. Deputy Marshal Benton McKay is undercover tracking the notorious train robbing Weaver gang, and the trail ends in Jerome. When he’s injured in the Black Hills and found by a determined and beautiful young woman, he must gain her trust to keep his identity a secret. But keeping her out of trouble proves a challenge, especially with her cousin assigned to assist him. As they track down the band of outlaws, another agenda emerges—the renegades are searching for lost gold believed to have been left behind by the Spanish Conquistadors. And Sophie Ryan is determined to report on it.

Come along with Sophie and McKay as they find adventure, mystery, and love. 

Sophie is the daughter of Logan and Claire from THE DOVE.

 Coming July 17, 2024

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Whiskey in Early America

By Kristy McCaffrey

To the early settlers of America, alcohol was a necessity. While drinking was certainly done for pleasure, it was also used for health concerns. Water was notoriously unhealthy, particularly in settled areas where waste and drinking water intermingled. Even small children drank a mildly alcoholic thin beer.

Stills were used, and everything was thrown in, from wild berries to pumpkins. Favorites were pear brandy, applejack, and metheglin (a type of mead flavored with cinnamon, chamomile, and other herbs and spices).

In 1640, William Kieft, director general of the Dutch New Netherland colony, opened the first commercial distillery on Staten Island. He used corn and rye, making him the first whiskey distiller in the colonies.

As the Americas expanded, where you lived influenced what you drank. Farmers had easy access to grain alcohol. Urban centers imported brandy and wines, such as Madeira. The most popular drink, however, was rum, which was distilled in New England from molasses imported from British colonies in the Caribbean.

By the early 1800s, rum consumption had declined, and whiskey took its place. The explosion in production coincided with the influx of German, Scottish, and Irish immigrants, who brought a cultural knowledge of distilling with them.

Jacob Beam (born Jacob Boehm) was the son of German immigrants and the creator of the Beam distilling dynasty. He moved from Maryland to Kentucky, found fertile soil for growing corn, and was able to create affordable liquor for the masses.

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Whiskey, Beer, and a New Series by Paty Jager

I’m ready to start my new historical western romance series. The idea has been brewing since the first of the year. I’ve been researching, asking readers questions, and now I’m am ready to start writing the first book in the series. 

The series is called Ladies of the Silver Dollar Saloon. Guess where a lot of each story will take place? Yep! In the Silver Dollar Saloon in Shady Gulch, Dakota Territory. I wanted the town on a railroad, and I discovered that the Great Northern Railway ran from Duluth to Bismarck in 1873 and continued on in 1881. 

Shady Gulch is a made-up place, but I’m using towns along the railroad route to formulate my own.  I didn’t want to worry about keeping things exact to an already established town. This way I have some leeway. But I’m making sure I have historical facts and figures in the stories along with fun characters. 

The free land act gave a person 21 or older 160 acres of farm ground. They had to prove up 10 acres for 5 years and it was theirs. Many people of different nationalities came to the Dakota Territory to start a new life. Some made it and others left when harsh weather kept them from being able to prove the land. Wheat was the biggest cash crop. It sold for $1 a bushel in the early 1880’s. And with the railroad, they didn’t have to haul it by wagon hundreds of miles away.

My research on the Dakota Territory has given me even more ideas for the stories and heroes the Ladies of the Silver Dollar Saloon will meet and marry. With the cattle ranchers, railroad men, farmers, schools, newspapers, and so many different cultures converging in the area and along the railroad route, the ideas just keep pinging around in my head. 

I’ve also been researching saloons in the time period of my story. They sold whiskey and beer. Whiskey at most saloons would be watered down to make the saloon more money. In some places they sold whisky colored camphine, fusel oil, and oil of turpentine.  This was why many who drank to excess ruined their stomachs and died.  It was also noted they would mix creek water with any or all of these ingredients to make a drink that was hot, acrid, and bitter, giving it the illusion of strength:

Tartaric, citric, and sulfuric acids, fusel oil, ammonia, black bone meal, gunpowder, molasses, oak bark, oatmeal, cayenne pepper, tobacco, snake root, nitre, juniper berries, creosote, and turpentine.

No wonder whisky got the nickname “Rotgut”. 

The Scotch-Irish have been credited with being the creators of whiskey in America. They used rye, corn, barley, and potatoes to make the whiskey.  “Western Whiskey” which originated in the wild untamed west had three varieties: rye, bourbon, and corn whiskey. Corn whiskey, of course, was made from corn with a bit of barley malt to help it ferment.  Whiskey was made in barrels which made it easier and more profitable to transport than the commodities it was made from.  Bourbon has been said to have been accidentally invented by the Reverend Elijah Craig in 1789. He scoured the inside of empty barrels with glowing ashes to clean and ready them for whiskey. He then forgot several barrels that were hid in a dark corner, and when they were found and opened they had aged, mellowed, and had a full-bodied spirit. 

Beer was the other drink sold at saloons.  It appeared early in the West. There was a brewery in California in 1837 when it was still under Mexican rule. The first regular brewery opened in San Francisco in 1850. German Union troops had a “lagerbeer wagon” follow them in the Civil War. By 1880 breweries were in mining camps and larger cities.  

Most saloons sold both beer and whiskey but there were some that sold on beer. A large or “big ‘uns” was 10 cents and a “little ‘uns” was a nickel. 

The Silver Dollar in my series will have both whiskey and beer and because my saloon owner will also be a hero in one of the books and I have him portrayed as a good guy, he’ll sell only real whiskey but will also have a watered down bottle for the drunks who should be home taking care of their families. 

The first book of this series: Savannah and Larkin will be available in August. 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 30+ novels, a dozen novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. She has a RomCon Reader’s Choice Award, EPPIE, Lorie, and RONE Award. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what readers have to say about the Letters of Fate series- “...filled with romance, adventure and twists and turns.” “What a refreshing and well written love story of fate and hope!”

 

 Photo source: © Can Stock Photo / surpasspro

Saloons and Beer

courtesy of castleg.deviantart.com

When creating a western historical story, I like to present something factual from the era, even something as simple as a warming oven. I also like to have a saloon somewhere in the story. Sometimes, the saloon isn’t an important part of the story. Other times, it is. In Zanna’s Outlaw, Miller’s saloon provided the perfect setting for Buck to watch over the main thoroughfare without being detected. And though Buck and Miller had a love/hate relationship, Miller proved to be a good source for what Buck needed most—information pertaining to Buck’s enemies. In Lydia’s Gunslinger, Miller’s saloon again proved a wealthy source for the hero. Roth made a hefty profit at Miller’s, until Lydia put a stop her gunslinger owning soiled doves. More importantly, the saloon’s back room was a great place for Roth to spy on Lydia’s enemy. Cooper frequented Miller’s daily, giving Roth ample opportunity to plot against him. 

Sawdust covering a wooden floor, brass spittoons flanking a scratched bar, a large, plate glass window adorning the front window and slatted swinging doors thwapping when someone entered or exited; the old west saloon has always captured my attention. Closing my eyes, I can hear boot heels clicking across the floor, the murmur of voices around a poker table and the clinking of glasses. It wasn’t until I wrote the Revolving Point, Texas series did I wonder about the most important thing in a saloon—beer. Who brewed the beer? How was it shipped to the saloon? I was somewhat certain I knew the answer to the latter question, but the author within demanded I know for sure.  

        

courtesy of indianabeer.com

Nathan Lyman was one of the first men to open a brewery in the United States, in Rochester, NY, 1819. After him, breweries sprouted up throughout the century in big cities; Buffalo, Cincinnati, Chicago and Milwaukee to name a few. Ale was the first type of beer brewed, until the German migration to the United States introduced lager beer. Lager beer is lighter compared to ale and Americans liked the taste. They also preferred the new glassware introduced to saloons over the pewter mugs. Marketing strategies were as big back then as they are today. Brewers sent reps to saloons to entice saloon owners to only sell their beer. One of the perks offered was the glassware. Large brewery owners are also credited with opening saloons, with the intent to only sell their beer, as competition was fierce.   

Beer was stored in wooden barrels and shipped to saloons via horse-drawn wagons. I have a replica of one of these wagons on my entertainment center. Two things of interest I didn’t know, and really should put into a story, was some folks brewed their own beer. Others purchased beer from a local saloon to drink in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. Beer was carried in small tin pails known as 'Growlers'. Until now, I had never heard mention of beer having been consumed in homes. Only whiskey. Or sherry, for the ladies. While I’m not one who favors beer, the history behind the making of the drink, the shipping, and the marketing is as fascinating as the saloon itself.