📘BOURBON 1b: Before Bourbon, Kentucke Country's War for Survival

By 1780, Kentucke's frontier settlements were beginning to offer something their earliest inhabitants had struggled to find: a chance to build permanent homes, raise families, and grow enough corn to survive. Captain Isaac Ruddell believed his station along the Licking River might finally provide that security. But while settlers worked their fields and strengthened their stockades, a British military expedition was making its way toward the Kentucke frontier. What happened when the two forces met would leave families scattered, reputations questioned, and an entire region struggling to recover. Through the experiences of Ruddell, the Miller family, and other frontier settlers, we'll discover how Kentucke's turbulent beginnings helped shape the world in which Bourbon would eventually emerge.

This is Chapter 1b of The Lost History of Bourbon, presented as a reading from an early manuscript draft. Unlike regular Whiskey Lore Stories episodes, these chapters are presented without music or sound effects. The manuscript is a work in progress, and some details may change.

READ THE TRANSCRIPT: https://www.whiskeylore.org/episodes/x01b-the-lost-history-of-bourbon-the-wilds-of-kentucke-country

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