I tried to limit the Reader story to credible facts (I consider the Forman material largely credible) and reasonable surmises from those facts. I also had to limit it to the available space. But I'll take this opportunity to share some of my more speculative opinions.
Let me say first off that I made inquiries to Henry Preiss and one other individual with personal knowledge of some of the facts. Neither replied before I went to press, but both did subsequently, not with answers but with acknowledgement of my inquiry and a promise to reply.
Regarding what Louis Forman retained when he lost control of the distillery in 1956, his papers say he "kept the formula and stock." I interpreted "stock" to mean the whiskey produced between 1951 and 1956. This makes logical sense because Pennco, as a contract distiller, might not have had an immediate market for what had already been made. A "contract distiller," at least if the term is being properly used, receives a contract to distill something that usually includes storage for aging purposes, but that is a different business from the "spot market" sale of bulk whiskey.
That is why I believe Pennco wanted the distillery but not the existing stock.
I think it's fair to assume that what they made between 1951 and 1956 was the Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey developed by Everett Beam, and that Pennco never made that recipe thereafter unless under contract from Louis Forman to replenish his stocks. It's also possible Forman made Michter's Original and did contract distilling during his tenure as well, so Pennco was essentially buying the contract distilling business along with the distillery, and Forman was remaining in the business, as a producer of Michter's Original, but was getting some of his capital out of the distilling part of the business.
Furthermore, I believe that Logansport restored the distillery after 1942. Perhaps Forman started it, but I think that would be mentioned if he had. The account from his records makes it sound like he did nothing with it during the brief time that he owned it in 1942.
I believe Logansport restored it to a typical whiskey distillery of the period, with a column-type beer still and a pot-type doubler (probably a conventional doubler and not a thumper). Forman and Beam apparently did something to it in 1950, since there seems to have been a gap of several months between their acquisition of the plant and their resuming operations, though there could be other explanations for that.
It seems well established to me that Everett Beam was employed continuously at the distillery in Schaefferstown from 1950 until the actual closing in 1989, regardless of the owner. He talked, after his retirement, primarily about making rye whiskey, but did mention that he was proud of developing the Michter's Original Sour Mash Whiskey recipe. He never said a word about making no bourbon, but that doesn't mean he didn't. I have no doubt that he did, but what Pennco mostly made was straight rye and also some of the Michter's Original.
So part of the question here is, who was Pennco? Who were the principal shareholders? Who were the officers and directors? What was their business model? All we know is who their distiller was.
There is no evidence that there was ever a true pot still distillery there until the bicentennial distillery was installed in 1976. All relevant evidence is to the contrary.
John, as I said in my note to you earlier today, I believe Jackson is wrong and Michter's continued to produce on a limited basis until 1989, not just from the bicentennial distillery but the primary distillery as well and that there was still whiskey from the primary distillery in the warehouses in 1991.
Whatever the significance of 1974 was, it was not the last year of anything. I suspect that Louis Forman was either the original contractor for a batch of bourbon made in 1974, or he acquired that contract at some point, only taking delivery when he was forced to by the collapse of the business. Imagine how you would feel if you owned, say, 1,000 barrels of whiskey that was sitting in a warehouse where all of the warehouse men had just been let go?
Why had he, or the previous owner, not taken delivery during any of the previous 15 years? That gets even more speculative, but the possible scenarios are not delusional.
As for the 1950 contract between Hirsch and Forman, I only know that a contract existed between them. It shows Hirsch had an interest in that distillery as early as 1950. It's possible this is the sale itself, or perhaps Hirsch was running the distillery for Schenley and this is a personal services contract, or a buyout of his employment contract. There are many possibilities. Someone would need to go to Delaware and make a copy of it for us to know more. Any volunteers?
As for the chain of ownership, I am pretty sure it went Bomberger (1861-1920), Sechrist (1920-1942), Forman (1942), Logansport/Schenley (1942-1950), Forman (1950-1956), Pennco (1956-1975), Forman, et. al. (1975-1979), Ted Veru (1979-???).
I believe it is likely that there are other names in there between 1975 and 1989, but we don't know what they are except the mysterious Acquarii that was there or, rather, not there at the end.
Either way, 1974 is clearly within the Pennco regime, though near the end of it, when the company was a contract distiller.
Thank you, John, for kicking off the discussion and for your kind words about me and my quixotic enterprise.