University of Kentucky geography professor Karl Raitz explores the social, cultural, economic and technological elements that led to Kentucky’s distilling successes in a new book called “Bourbon Backroads.”
Raitz studied 19th century Kentucky to put the bourbon boom into an environmental and historical context. “Bourbon Backroads” discovers why the distilling industry thrives in the Bluegrass State, from rural farmers at remote sites (the backroads) to manufacturing hubs with large-scale operations.
His extensive research details how geography, landscape and architecture led to the development of Kentucky’s distilling industry over two centuries. The book is recommended for geographers, historians and bourbon lovers.