World History
You Don?t Know Jack. This is an interesting history article from Modern Drunkard Magazine. I have to admit that there have been several interesting history essays (relating to alcohol of course) at this site. I haven't attempted to fact check any of them but they are good reads.
This article provides a biography of whiskey maker Jack Daniels. He lived an interesting life. For example, his famous appearance was a result of his height. The author wrote, "Jasper ?Jack? Newton Daniel was born in 1849 in the small town of Lynchburg, TN, the youngest of ten children. He was also the smallest, only reaching a height of 5 feet 1 inch. Well into adulthood, people regularly mistook him for a teenager, prompting him to grow his trademark black goatee and long, drooping, mustache."
Jack Daniels was forced to live off of the kindness of neighbors and strangers because as a teenager his family was devastated by the Civil War. One of these helpful families taught him to make whiskey. The author wrote, "The last family he?d live with, however, the Calls, managed to teach Jack not only a valuable skill, but one he actually enjoyed. Down in the hollow of the aptly named Stillhouse Creek, Dan Call taught Jack Daniel how to make sour mash."
During reconstruction, Jack Daniels often had to bribe Union officials and ex-confederate gangs to get his product to market. The Klan was the biggest obstacle though. The author wrote, "These guerrillas were bellicose and bloody-minded, but couldn?t hold a candle to yet another group skittering around the backwaters of the South in those days?the Ku Klux Klan. This gaggle of buffoons wanted to control all of the liquor in the South because they had gotten it into their heads that liquor made black men chase white women. On more than one occasion, Jack was forced at rifle-point to hand over his entire shipment to placate a Klansmen."
The amusing writing style continues and explores the rest of the main events in Jack Daniels life including the growth of his business into a world renowned name. The article itself begins and ends with a campaign against current Jack Daniels management for diluting the alcohol content of the current product but the rest of the article is an interesting history read.
- History Carnival Lvi
The newest History Carnival is up! History Carnival LVI is now at Walking the Berkshires. It also has a very memorable carnival name with "Rocky Road Pistachio Mocha Chip Edition (with Cracker Jack® Topping!)." Well, it is a carnival... The next History...
- French Sought Union With Britain In '56
Absolutely shocking history news out of Europe! The International Herald Tribune is reporting in French sought union with Britain in '56 the almost unthinkable. From the article, "Would France have been better off under Queen Elizabeth II? The revelation...
- Drunkus Maximus: The Power And Purpose Of Alcohol In Ancient Rome.
Drunkus Maximus: The Power and Purpose of Alcohol in Ancient Rome. I found this article at the new issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine online. The author is someone writing under the name Rich English which I think is a pseudonym. While not perfect, and...
- Drunks Of War
Drunks of War. This is an article from the July/August 2003 issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine. In it, the author (Rich English) argues that "Societies possessing a robust and realistic attitude toward intoxication have produced mightier warriors than...
- Attila The Hun: Here Comes The Rain Again.
Bookmark this clip for the Middle Ages. Here the Eurythmics sing "Attila the Hun: Here Comes the Rain Again." And below is the 1954 movie, "Sign of the Pagan," with Jack Palance as Attila. Read more about the movie from the Medievalists.net ...
World History
You Don’t Know Jack
You Don?t Know Jack. This is an interesting history article from Modern Drunkard Magazine. I have to admit that there have been several interesting history essays (relating to alcohol of course) at this site. I haven't attempted to fact check any of them but they are good reads.
This article provides a biography of whiskey maker Jack Daniels. He lived an interesting life. For example, his famous appearance was a result of his height. The author wrote, "Jasper ?Jack? Newton Daniel was born in 1849 in the small town of Lynchburg, TN, the youngest of ten children. He was also the smallest, only reaching a height of 5 feet 1 inch. Well into adulthood, people regularly mistook him for a teenager, prompting him to grow his trademark black goatee and long, drooping, mustache."
Jack Daniels was forced to live off of the kindness of neighbors and strangers because as a teenager his family was devastated by the Civil War. One of these helpful families taught him to make whiskey. The author wrote, "The last family he?d live with, however, the Calls, managed to teach Jack not only a valuable skill, but one he actually enjoyed. Down in the hollow of the aptly named Stillhouse Creek, Dan Call taught Jack Daniel how to make sour mash."
During reconstruction, Jack Daniels often had to bribe Union officials and ex-confederate gangs to get his product to market. The Klan was the biggest obstacle though. The author wrote, "These guerrillas were bellicose and bloody-minded, but couldn?t hold a candle to yet another group skittering around the backwaters of the South in those days?the Ku Klux Klan. This gaggle of buffoons wanted to control all of the liquor in the South because they had gotten it into their heads that liquor made black men chase white women. On more than one occasion, Jack was forced at rifle-point to hand over his entire shipment to placate a Klansmen."
The amusing writing style continues and explores the rest of the main events in Jack Daniels life including the growth of his business into a world renowned name. The article itself begins and ends with a campaign against current Jack Daniels management for diluting the alcohol content of the current product but the rest of the article is an interesting history read.
- History Carnival Lvi
The newest History Carnival is up! History Carnival LVI is now at Walking the Berkshires. It also has a very memorable carnival name with "Rocky Road Pistachio Mocha Chip Edition (with Cracker Jack® Topping!)." Well, it is a carnival... The next History...
- French Sought Union With Britain In '56
Absolutely shocking history news out of Europe! The International Herald Tribune is reporting in French sought union with Britain in '56 the almost unthinkable. From the article, "Would France have been better off under Queen Elizabeth II? The revelation...
- Drunkus Maximus: The Power And Purpose Of Alcohol In Ancient Rome.
Drunkus Maximus: The Power and Purpose of Alcohol in Ancient Rome. I found this article at the new issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine online. The author is someone writing under the name Rich English which I think is a pseudonym. While not perfect, and...
- Drunks Of War
Drunks of War. This is an article from the July/August 2003 issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine. In it, the author (Rich English) argues that "Societies possessing a robust and realistic attitude toward intoxication have produced mightier warriors than...
- Attila The Hun: Here Comes The Rain Again.
Bookmark this clip for the Middle Ages. Here the Eurythmics sing "Attila the Hun: Here Comes the Rain Again." And below is the 1954 movie, "Sign of the Pagan," with Jack Palance as Attila. Read more about the movie from the Medievalists.net ...