This section covers whiskey, bourbon, vodka, moonshine, and other similar types of liquor. There are two important things to mention that are specific to distilled spirits that may help when doing research. First, is the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 (29 Stat. 626, Comp. St. § 6070 et seq.) that was passed as a reaction to adulteration among spirits and set age and bottling standard legal regulations contained (now in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 27 - Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits).

Second, Prohibition had temporary and long-term effects on the industry. In the short term most business ceased though there were several distillers that were allowed to continue producing for medicinal purposes under Title II sections 6 and 7 of the Volstead Act. Some of these managed to survive Prohibition and were more quick to ramp up after repeal but unfortunately, many were never able to reestablish themselves. In the long term the industry was much smaller and more concentrated after the repeal of Prohibition though the 21st century has seen growth.

Please see the resources in the General Resources section of this guide where there are books and trade literature that provide an historical overview of the alcoholic beverage industry and are not devoted to a specific type of beverage. You may also want to consider searching sources like the Internet Archive and HathiTrust for additional materials. For example, HathiTrust has Cozzens' Wine Press (v. 1-6) for the years 1854-60 that had been digitized by the University of California and the Wine & Spirit Bulletin for the years 1901-1906, 1908 and 1914-17.