Dead Distillers stands apart in its easy to read format and telling of some more obscure, but interesting, figures of whiskey history. Though at times the book lacks broader context, and some of the original newspaper snippets seem to be shoehorned in after unrelated segments, Spoelman and Haskell succeed in weaving an authentic narrative of murder, greed, and intrigue throughout, riffing on the cemetery theme. There is a healthy sampling of New York ties-in to U.S. whiskey history — and a few subtle tie-ins to Kings County Distillery, of which Spoelman and Haskell are co-founder. Overall, Dead Distillers is worthwhile, personal take of the many figures who influenced the trajectory of whiskey history in America.
I can appreciate the Spoelman and Haskell’s fascination with cemeteries. On trips throughout Europe and elsewhere, I’ve often found myself drawn to their beautiful and other-worldly artistry. Towering carved statutes of grieving angles; ornate family tombs with Iran gates drawn (and locked) across the entrance; crumbling headstones from centuries prior, names barely visible.
In his introduction to Dead Distillers, Spoelman, however, reminds us that not only in the past were cemeteries places for social congregation, they were tourist destinations — in the mid-1800s Green-Wood cemetery was one of the country’s busiest tourist destinations. While the perception of cemeteries has evolved in the popular imagination of America over the years, it appears cemeteries have somehow become “cool” again as the backdrop for both haunted and non-haunted tours, and cocktail parties.
This, however, is not a book about cemeteries (though the authors frequently come back to the topic, and meticulously highlight where many of the dead distillers featured in the book are actually buried), it is a book about the history of the men and women who helped shape the foundations of distilling in this country. Dead Distillers is also a book that looks at the tragedy, greed, and perseverance that also underlies the tradition of American spirits production.
Based on ample original research, Dead Distillers underscores the many workers (sometimes children) who were killed or otherwise maimed in spirits-related industrial accidents. Spoelman and Haskell bring out the typical assembly of characters in Dead Distillers the one would expect in a history book about whiskey: George Thorpe, George Washington, Elijah Craig, Orville Babcock (and President Ulysses Grant), Jack Daniel, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr., and Issac Bernheim, to name a few.
Where the research for Dad Distillers really shines is in its account of the lesser-known characters of whiskey history, the ones that slipped through the cracks. While, understandably, original sources are scarce, vignettes about whiskey scientist Joikichi Takamine, who funded the planting of the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC; the inventor of American Gin, Hezziekiah Pierrepont; rum runner Gertrude Cecilia Lythgoe; and bootlegger Maggie Bailey, fascinate.
Each character in the book is given a short, stand alone, easy to navigate installment. This makes the book uncomplicated to navigate, though, this format does sometimes come at a cost, causing the book to feel slightly disjointed as it jumps between stories. The vignette format also means that sometimes the narrative lacks broader context. Nevertheless, many of the stories feel very personal, and Spoelman and Haskell’s inclusion of the actual articles featuring whiskey tragedies adds an authenticity to the book lacking in some other books on the subject.
