for bourbon fans, elijah craig.

[Ken Gargett]

The True Story of Elijah Craig

December 18, 2018   |   Sam Komlenic

Elijah Craig was a Baptist minister but was he also the father of bourbon? (Photo by Kristina Krug)

The name Elijah Craig adorns some of Heaven Hill Brands’ finest bourbons. In fact, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was named Whisky Advocate’s 2017 Whisky of the Year. Like many whiskey namesakes, Elijah Craig is a real historical figure. The label of Elijah Craig Small Batch states that he was the “Father of Bourbon.” But does he really pass the paternity test?

The claim derives from The History of Kentucky, published in 1874 and written by Lewis and Richard Collins, which reads: “The first Bourbon Whisky was made in 1789, at Georgetown, in the fulling mill at the Royal spring.” Notice Elijah Craig isn’t mentioned here; however, in the two paragraphs just prior to this quote, the Collinses write that Craig was responsible for building the first fulling mill (used in the creation of woolen cloth) at Georgetown, also in 1789, and the first “rope-walk” (necessary for making rope) and paper mill as well. So although Craig isn’t mentioned by name specifically, it is implied that he is the person in question. How do Collinses substantiate this claim? There begins the ambiguity.

Who Was Elijah Craig?

Elijah Craig was born around 1738 in Orange County, Virginia, moving to what is now modern-day Kentucky in 1782. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1771 and preached the gospel almost until his death in 1808. He was obviously a true entrepreneur on the American frontier and was responsible for promoting the success of industry in the budding commonwealth. He is recognized by the Collinses as the founder of Georgetown. All of this makes Craig a well-known and influential figure. None of this, however, makes him the father of bourbon.

If Craig was distilling this early, he was likely not alone: By 1789 there were other distillers in the area who also would have been using indigenous corn and other crops to make whiskey. Why have we not remembered their names? Maybe simply because they didn’t run other major businesses, or have the influence and notoriety of the Reverend Elijah Craig. But there is evidence that many other early settlers were distilling whiskey.

Early Kentucky Distillers

According to The History of Kentucky, the first distillery in Bourbon County itself was built “around 1790 by Jacob Spears and others from Pennsylvania.” The use of the word “around” gives pause; if indeed this was the county’s first distillery, there’s no accurate record of its date of construction. Spears’s magnificent home and a lone remaining stone whiskey warehouse from his “Peacock Distillery” still stand along the Clay-Kiser Road just north of Paris, Kentucky.

The same paragraph states, “Others claim Capt. John Hamilton, who ran away from Pennsylvania on account of his participation in the whisky insurrection, distilled in this region before Mr. Spears.” It would have been unlikely that this was the case for Hamilton’s relocation, since the insurrection—known these days as the Whiskey Rebellion—did not begin until 1791.

Then there was Daniel Shawhan, Jr., who began distilling in Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia) sometime during the 1760s. He moved his family to Allegheny County in southwestern Pennsylvania around 1771, then to Kentucky in 1788, ending up near present-day Paris, and resumed his former occupation, this time making bourbon instead of Monongahela rye. This account comes from a family history of the Shawhans and is corroborated by an unlikely source: the History of Jackson County, Missouri, published in 1881, which claims that Shawhan even built the first still in Bourbon County.

The common thread through these individuals is a background in Pennsylvania before moving west. The Keystone State was the hotbed of early American distilling, and the Whiskey Rebellion caused many people to relocate down the Ohio River to more clandestine ground where the government would have a more difficult time taxing their livelihoods.

Benjamin Bedford located to Bourbon County from Virginia, via Madison County, Kentucky, in 1788. He is noted for operating the unlikely combination of both a distillery and a powder mill—located adjacent to each other. Talk about an explosive combination!

How Elijah Craig Got On A Bottle

According to Josh Hafer, communications manager for Heaven Hill, the Elijah Craig trademark was first registered in 1960 by Commonwealth Distillers, who also owned the T.W. Samuels brand. Heaven Hill acquired it in 1976, and it seems that it was never an active brand until the whiskey’s first release in 1986, as the bourbon market neared its nadir.

Why release a premium product in a down market that was dominated by cheap bourbon? Hafer explains that “to Heaven Hill, a 12 year old product represented a departure from a reputation for less than quality whiskey.” The company was making a statement and betting on the revival of bourbon’s popularity, a long-term strategy that turned out to be remarkably prescient.

Building on that foresight, Elijah Craig 18 year old came out in the mid-1990s, another gamble that the market would improve. With the numerous awards Elijah Craig has received since, Heaven Hill’s strategy has been affirmed, with the brand now a leader in the smoking hot premium bourbon category.

While Elijah Craig makes the claim to represent the father of bourbon, there were certainly many other early bourbon distillers at the time, as distillation was an important way to generate additional income on the hardscrabble frontier. Some names are now lost to time, but all of these distillers played an important role in establishing the tradition that has grown into today’s bourbon industry. Much like the United States, our national spirit was hatched not by one man, but by a group of founding fathers, with Elijah Craig contributing his indelible mark on the spirit and the history of Kentucky.

[BuzzArd]

EC is a staple in my collection.  Great history lesson, ken. 

[Justin]

Cool story!  One of my go-to bourbons. 

[MIKA27]

Nice read, thank you Ken  

[anacostiakat]

Good piece.  Bourbon market these days is wack. 

[Rrm7284]

Cool read, thanks! Love the ECBP, it’s the pour that reignited my bourbon love


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[irratebass]

Thanks for sharing Ken, I had some on Sunday.

[FireMedic]

I heard this briefly mentioned in a bourbon video I saw the other day, nice to have a more in-depth version, thanks!

[Astar20]

Elijah Craig barrel proof is one tasty high proof bourbon. It’s one of my personal favorites up there with knob creek single barrel. Both are vanilla caramel butterscotch bombs.

[micahlikes]

Was lucky enough to purchase two bottles of EC batch C19. Phenomenal stuff. The regular production doesn’t even compare! Looking forward to the release of batch A for this year.


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[prodigy]

I was under the impression he was the father of bourbon because he was the first to fill charred barrels with whiskey. Whiskey is not bourbon, this article seems to focus on distilling whiskey, not making bourbon. This is all from memory, I will have to read up on the accuracy of the first to use charred barrels.

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[DaBoot]

Excellent read, and decent juice also??

[canadianbeaver]

Great read. Strangely enough, name missing from the wall ?. Note to self: If Ken makes a thread, fix that!

CB

[selpo]

10 hours ago, Astar20 said:

Elijah Craig barrel proof is one tasty high proof bourbon. It’s one of my personal favorites up there with knob creek single barrel. Both are vanilla caramel butterscotch bombs.

Agree with EC BP, will look for the Knob Creek single barrel.

[micahlikes]

I was under the impression he was the father of bourbon because he was the first to fill charred barrels with whiskey. Whiskey is not bourbon, this article seems to focus on distilling whiskey, not making bourbon. This is all from memory, I will have to read up on the accuracy of the first to use charred barrels.

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So all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Can be a little tricky to understand, but there are some really good laws that regulate what whiskey can be called bourbon. But as you can see on this fine bottle of juice, it is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.


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[prodigy]

So all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Can be a little tricky to understand, but there are some really good laws that regulate what whiskey can be called bourbon. But as you can see on this fine bottle of juice, it is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.


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That's one of my favorites. I think I have 6 bottles right now.

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[micahlikes]

Batch C19 really is fine stuff. If you have A19 and B19, a blend of all three of them is out of this world!


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[prodigy]

Batch C19 really is fine stuff. If you have A19 and B19, a blend of all three of them is out of this world!


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B19 hasn't been released, do you mean b18?

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[micahlikes]

Sorry, yes I meant to say ABC 2018.


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[prodigy]

I'll look when I get home. I have the new a119 coming soon, my dad has it for me. I know I had several c918.

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