James E Pepper Time Line

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James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby bourbonv » Wed Aug 03, 2005 6:03 pm

Here is another time line for those who might be interested in this Lexington, Ky. Distillery.


James E. Pepper History

1776 - Elijah Pepper first comes to Kentucky and settles at
"Old Pepper Spring" (Spirits, 1935, "Schenley in
Kentucky", Filson Club).

1780 - Elijah Pepper starts distilling whiskey at Versailles,
in what is now Woodford County, Ky. His son Oscar and
grandson James E. used the trademark "Old 1776" and the
slogan "Born with the Republic". (C Crowdery, Heritage
of James E Pepper Bourbon).

o - Distillery was on the Frankfort Pike where the ruins of
the Labrot and Graham Distillery are today. Called "Old
Pepper Spring" on Glenn's Creek. (C Cowdery, Hert.
James E Pepper).

1794 - Whiskey Rebellion - Pepper is one of the few
distilliers who can afford to pay the tax. Other
Farmer/distillers become grain suppliers for the
distillers that can afford the tax as the industry
starts to consolidate into companies (Spirits, 1935,
Filson Club).

1809 - Oscar Pepper born in Woodford Co. Ky. (C Cowdery,
Hert. James E Pepper).

1820 - James C Crow comes to the United States from Scotland
(Belles, Bluegrass and Bourbon, Harry Harrison Kroll).

1831 - Elijah Pepper dies.(C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1838 - Oscar Pepper and wife Nannie Edwards build Old Oscar
Pepper Distillery. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

o - Oscar Pepper hires Dr. James C Crow as his Distiller.
Crows innovation was the use of part of the residue
from the previous batch of sour mash to prepare the new
sour mash. He also introduced the use of the
sacchrometer to measure the sugar content of the mash
and followed sanitation practices still used today.
(C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1856 - Dr. James C Crow dies at the age of 67. (C Cowdery,
Hert. James Pepper).

1858 - Headley and Farra distillery established (Kentucky's
Bourbon Industry, J Atherton, Filson Club).

1867 - Oscar Pepper dies. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

o - James E Pepper takes over the distillery (C Cowdery,
Hert. James E Pepper).

o - James E Pepper sells the Old Crow brand to Gaines,
Berry and Company, but continues to make it for them.
(C Cowdery, James E Pepper).

1870 - James E Pepper moves to New York City and is remembered
for introducing the Old-Fashioned Cocktail to New
Yorkers. He learned of the drink at Louisville's
Pendennis Club. (C Cowdery, James E Pepper).

1874 - James E Pepper orders major improvements at the family
distillery. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1877 - J E Pepper and George A Starkweather raise $25,000 in
capitol to build a new distillery. Their brands will be
"Pepper" and "Henry Clay". A few years later, they
purchase a smaller distillery near Lexington, Ky. and
produce "Henry Clay Rye" (Lexington Leader, Feb.8,
1950).

1878 - James E Pepper sells the distillery to Labrot and
Graham. They keep the distillery until 1940 when they
sell it to Brown and Forman. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E
Pepper).

1879 - James E Pepper returns to Kentucky and builds the
Henry Clay Distillery near Lexington, Ky. (C Cowdery,
Hert. James E Pepper).

o - Distillery site was 48 1/2 acres. Pepper built brick
buildings with stone foundations at a cost of $125,000.
It had 2 steam engines and a capacity of 550 bushels a
day which produced 50 barrels a day. (C Cowdery, Hert.
James E Pepper).

o - The site of this distillery was located on the site of
the Headley and Farra distillery (Kentucky's Bourbon
Industry, J Atherton, Filson Club).

1890 - James E Pepper tires of "rectifiers" blending the
whiskey he makes and applies for a license to bottle
whiskey at his distillery. (American Wine and Liquor
Journal, March, 1937).

1891 - A James Pepper advertisement in the Jan.1, 1891 issue
of the Wine and Spirits Bulletin, states that he uses
"rye, barley and corn in a 100 year old formula" and
that it was mashed "by hand one bushel at a time in
1,000 small tubs with NO yeast added and single and
double distilled over an open fire (page 75).

o - Pepper anounces that he has sold all of his 87 thru 89
crops of whiskey to over 90 different houses, including
the 1,500 barrels that he had set aside for himself and
he will no longer give any discounts (Wine and Spirit
Bulletin, April 1, 1891, page 25).

o - Pepper anounces that he has patented his labels and
trademark and that any other brand advertised as Pepper
is not real Pepper whiskey (Wine and Spirit Bulletin,
April 1, 1891, Page 25).

1892 - James E Pepper's filly "Miss Dixie" wins the Kentucky
Oaks, winning a $3,850. purse (Wine and Spirits
Bulletin, Louisville Public Library).

1893 - James E Pepper's horse "Mirage" races in the Kentucky
Derby. He finishes 5th out of a field of 6 and Issac
Murphy is his jockey (Candice Perry, Kentucky Derby
Museum).

1896 - James E Pepper's horse "The Dragon" races in the
Kentucky Derby and finishes 5th out of a field of 8.
Monk Overton is his jockey (Candice Perry, Kentucky
Derby Museum).

o - James E Pepper & Co. incorporates on Dec. 21., 1896 (U
D Archive, J E Pepper Minute Books).

1906 - James E Pepper Dies. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1908 - The Pepper family sells the distillery and brands to
investors from Chicago. (C Cowdery, Hert. James E
Pepper).

o - Joseph Wolf bought both of the Pepper distilleries and
ran them until prohibition closed them down. The
"little Pepper" distillery did not survive prohibition
(Lexington Leader, Feb.8, 1950).

1909 - Minute Book I for the James E Pepper & Co. gives a
description of the condition of the distiilery and the cost for repairing the distillery (U D Archive, James
E Pepper Minute Book).

1910 - Legendary boxer Jack Johnson defeats Jim Jeffries in
Reno, Nevada and celebrates under a banner stating:
"James E Pepper - `Born with the Republic'". (C
Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1911 - The James E Pepper Company "practically rebuilds the
whole distillery" in an up grading process at the
distillery (Wine and Spirits Bulletin, Feb.1, 1911,
page 69).

o - James E Pepper will increase its advertising budget for
magazines, including some of the nation's most
circulated magazines (Wine and Spirits Bulletin, Dec.1,
1911, page 21).

o - The 1911 Mida's Financial Index list James E Pepper and
Co. with a main address of 122 Monroe St., Chicago,
Ill. with a capital value of $250,000 to $300,000 with
2 distilleries, Dy. No. 5, 7th Dist., Lexington, Ky.
and Dy. No. 46, 7th Dist., Yarnallton, Ky. with a
combined capital value of the distilleries as $500,000
to $600,000.

1912 - A James E Pepper advertisement with the "Born with the
Republic" and "Est. 1780" slogans appears in the Jan.
1, issue of Wine and Spirit Bulletin (page 4).

1918 - Legend has it that a soldier returning from the Great
War complained about prohibition and the loss of the
right to buy Pepper by saying "Born with the Republic.
Died with Democracy." (C Cowdery, Hert. James E
Pepper).

1919 - Pepper sends 30,000 cases and 4,000 barrels to Germany
to avoid prohibition. (Courier-Journal article, Dec.
23, 1919, section 1, page 1, column 6)

1930's - Schenley purchases the Pepper brand and distillery.
(C Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1933 - Schenley purchases James E Pepper from the heirs of
Jos. Wolf (Spirits, 1935, Filson Club).

o - Schenley acquires the James E Pepper Distillery with
its stocks of 6,496 barrels of whiskey and 2,225 cases
Gin, Brandy and other spirits for $850,000 (U D
Archives, Unpublished Manuscript, p. 21).

1934 - A fire burns a warehouse with 18,000 barrels of
whiskey. (UD Archives, 992.m.164).

1935 - Schenley opens an office in Louisville for James E
Pepper at 627 Starks Building (Louisville City
Directory, U of L Archives).

1960's - Schenley discontinues James E Pepper brand. (C
Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1964 - William H. Townsend, in his book Hundred Proof, tells
a story of Joseph Wolf, the per-prohibition owner of
the James E. Pepper Distillery and Brands (pp.98-101).

1977 - Schenley sells the Lexington, Ky. warehouses. (C
Cowdery, Hert. James E Pepper).

1987 - United Distillers acquires Schenley (C Morris,
15/11/91).

1994 - James E. Pepper bourbon is re-introduced to European
markets of Greece, Hungary, and Poland (M. Veach.
5/3/95).

Mike Veach
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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bourbonv
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Unread postby bourbonv » Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:27 am

Barry,
This is the James E Pepper timeline I mentioned. Just pay close attention to the source of information - not everything listed here comes from the best source of information.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:57 pm

Moving this forward for someone interested in Pepper.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby cowdery » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:38 pm

Be especially wary of anything that cites to "C. Cowdery." Very unreliable.
- Chuck Cowdery

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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:17 am

Really cool, thanks. I have uploaded all of the images from the famous Jack Johnson 'Fight of the Century' Ad Campaign
peppergladiators.jpg
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:20 am

#2
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:21 am

#3
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:22 am

#4
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:23 am

#5
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:26 am

#6
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:27 am

#7
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby amir » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:28 am

#8 - this actually should have been the first pic
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby cowdery » Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:53 am

Two little tidbits of observation here. Note that Pepper spelled it "whisky" and used that term, not bourbon, even though his product undoubtedly was bourbon whiskey.
- Chuck Cowdery

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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby bourbonv » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:56 am

Chuck,
I have a researcher who is interested in the Old Fashioned Cocktail. Do you have any recollection as to where and when the the fact that Pepper introduced the Old fashioned Cocktail to New Yorkers?
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Re: James E Pepper Time Line

Unread postby cowdery » Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:21 pm

I heard from him. Unfortunately, my source is Carson. You know why I say, "unfortunately."
- Chuck Cowdery

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