Neat: A Mostly True History of Bourbon

By Bob Clarke

Named after French kings. Invented by everybody. Defined by Congress.

Bourbon is America's native spirit, and its history is every bit as colorful as what's in the glass. Neat pours out the whole story with nothing added: frontier corn farmers and George Washington's whiskey army, a Confederate governor from Bourbon County who held office until sundown, prune-juice fakes, Prohibition "prescriptions," warehouse fires that sent bourbon running into the river, the angel's share, and the great Pappy Van Winkle panic.

Along the way you'll learn why the barrels are charred, why Kentucky barns turn black, what "Bottled in Bond" really means, and why honey belongs in mead and not in your bourbon. It's written by a man whose father rolled barrels in Frankfort as a teenager, and it ends with fifty bourbon jokes for your next round.

Some of it is true. Some of it is mostly true. And some of it is what the tour guide said, which in Kentucky counts as history if you say it with enough confidence.

Pour yourself two fingers. Neat, if you're brave.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HPMSJBY1
• ISBN13: 9798166155986
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"