Old Crow
Encyclopedia
Old Crow is a low-priced brand
of Kentucky
-made straight
bourbon whiskey
, along with the slightly higher quality, but still inexpensive Old Crow Reserve brand. It is distilled by Beam Inc.
, which also produces Jim Beam
and several other brands of bourbon whiskey. The Old Crow brand has a venerable history as one of Kentucky
's earliest bourbons, and is distinctive for being the first sour mash
process bourbon whiskey. Old Crow is aged in barrels for three years, and in the United States is 80 proof while Old Crow Reserve is aged for four years and is 86 proof.
immigrant, started distilling what would come to be Old Crow in Frankfort, Kentucky
, in the 1830s. Reportedly a very skilled distiller, he made whiskey for various employers, which was sold as "Crow" or, as it aged, "Old Crow" — the brand acquired its reputation from the latter. He died in 1856, and while W.A. Gaines and Company
kept the name and continued to distill the bourbon according to his recipe, the original distillation formula died with its creator. The last remaining stock of Old Crow (of which there seemed to have been quite a bit) acquired near-legendary status, and offering drinks of it reportedly secured a re-election for Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn
, senator for Kentucky. A dispute over ownership of the name "Old Crow" was decided in 1915 in favor of the Gaines company. Old Crow's logo
, a crow
perched atop grains of barley
, is rumored to stem as a symbol bridging the North and South during the Civil War
. A Pennsylvania brigade training at State College, Pennsylvania
thought Old Crow was the only good thing to ever come out of the south. Fearing never being able to drink Old Crow again, the soldiers wrote Lincoln proclaiming "We must not let the fine gentleman Old Crow escape. Remember Mr. President, the crow with the sharpest talons holds on to barley forever." After the War the logo was changed from a picture of James Crow to the current crow holding on to barley.
. An apocryphal story about Grant's drinking has the general's critics going to President Lincoln, charging the military man with being a drunk. Lincoln is supposed to have replied, "By the way, gentlemen, can either of you tell me where General Grant procures his whiskey ? Because, if I can find out, I will send every general in the field a barrel of it !"
Another famous politician who preferred Old Crow was Henry Clay
, of Kentucky
. Common apocrypha of the Senate holds that he would sit through Senate sessions, boots upon his desk, whittling and sipping from a jug of Old Crow within easy reach.
World War II "triple ace" Bud Anderson
named his P-51 Mustang
Old Crow, after the whiskey.
and Hunter S. Thompson
loved this bourbon. Twain reportedly visited the distillery in the 1880s, and Old Crow advertised this heavily; John C. Gerber sees in this commercial exploitation a sign of Twain's continuing popularity. As for Thompson, the frequent occurrences of the drink in his writing, semi-autobiographical as well as fictional have led to similar associations. The manufacturer actively pursued such publicity: in 1955, they took out an ad in College English, the journal of the National Council of Teachers of English
, offering $250 for every literary reference to their product.
In popular music, Old Crow is to be found in many different genres—from hip-hop, in the Beastie Boys
song "Slow Ride" (on the album License To Ill), to rockabilly
, in The Reverend Horton Heat
song "That's Showbiz" (on the album It's Martini Time
), which contains the lines "You could have a fever and the dry heaves / From that left handed cigarette / And shot of Old Crow you did between the first and second show", through punk-rock in Suits and Ladders from NOFX on Coaster album. Stereotypically a favorite of the lower classes, Old Crow is used in the very name of the old-time string band Old Crow Medicine Show
, and in the song "Doreen" by alternative country band Old 97s. In the song "Gin Soaked Boy," Tom Waits
presents Old Crow as a definitive blue-collar bourbon: "I come home last night, full a fifth of Old Crow / You said you goin' to your Ma's, where the hell did you go?"
Old Crow is also mentioned in the original recording of the R&B song "Hi-Heel Sneakers
", by Tommy Tucker, in a third verse which was edited out of the released version: "I've got my Old Crow liquor / And my paycheck in my hand / Because Big John's bootleg
whiskey / Cost much more than I can stand."
Brad Paisley
and Alan Jackson
team up in a song
named "Out in the Parking Lot," originally written by Guy Clark and Darrell Scott. Lyrics include: "I'm sittin' on the fender of someone else's truck Drinkin' Old Crow Whiskey and hot 7 Up
Out in the parkin' lot"
In an episode of Beavis and Butt-head
titled No Laughing, Beavis and Butt-head are sent to the principal's office for disrupting their class by their continuous laughing. After deciding on the boys punishment, Principal McVicker removes a bottle of Old Crow from his desk drawer and begins drinking heavily from it.
David Spade
's character in Grown Ups
drinks Old Crow.
The fictional detective Nick Danger, created by The Firesign Theater and voiced by Phil Austin
, is known to drink Old Crow.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
-made straight
Straight whiskey
Straight whiskey is whisky created by distilling a fermented cereal grain mash to create a spirit not exceeding 80% alcohol content by volume and then aging the spirit for at least two years at an abv concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.Filtering and dilution...
bourbon whiskey
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
, along with the slightly higher quality, but still inexpensive Old Crow Reserve brand. It is distilled by Beam Inc.
Beam Inc.
Beam Inc. is a spirits company established on October 4, 2011 from the remainder of the Fortune Brands holding company after it sold and spun off various other product lines to form a business focused exclusively on spirits and directly related products...
, which also produces Jim Beam
Jim Beam
Jim Beam is a brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky. It is currently one of the best selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 , seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand, which was given the name...
and several other brands of bourbon whiskey. The Old Crow brand has a venerable history as one of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's earliest bourbons, and is distinctive for being the first sour mash
Sour mash
Sour mash is a process in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to start fermentation in the batch currently being made, analogous to the making of sourdough bread. The term sour mash can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in that process, and a...
process bourbon whiskey. Old Crow is aged in barrels for three years, and in the United States is 80 proof while Old Crow Reserve is aged for four years and is 86 proof.
Origin
James Crow, a ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
immigrant, started distilling what would come to be Old Crow in Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
, in the 1830s. Reportedly a very skilled distiller, he made whiskey for various employers, which was sold as "Crow" or, as it aged, "Old Crow" — the brand acquired its reputation from the latter. He died in 1856, and while W.A. Gaines and Company
W.A. Gaines and Company
W.A. Gaines and Company was a liquor company owned by Edson Bradley that specialized in American made whiskeys.-History:...
kept the name and continued to distill the bourbon according to his recipe, the original distillation formula died with its creator. The last remaining stock of Old Crow (of which there seemed to have been quite a bit) acquired near-legendary status, and offering drinks of it reportedly secured a re-election for Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn
Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn
Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn was a Democratic Representative and Senator from Kentucky. He was the younger brother of Kentucky governor Luke P. Blackburn. Blackburn, a skilled and spirited orator, was also a prominent trial lawyer known for his skill at swaying juries.He was born near Spring...
, senator for Kentucky. A dispute over ownership of the name "Old Crow" was decided in 1915 in favor of the Gaines company. Old Crow's logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
, a crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
perched atop grains of barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, is rumored to stem as a symbol bridging the North and South during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. A Pennsylvania brigade training at State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
thought Old Crow was the only good thing to ever come out of the south. Fearing never being able to drink Old Crow again, the soldiers wrote Lincoln proclaiming "We must not let the fine gentleman Old Crow escape. Remember Mr. President, the crow with the sharpest talons holds on to barley forever." After the War the logo was changed from a picture of James Crow to the current crow holding on to barley.
Famous drinkers of Old Crow
Besides Blackburn, many American politicians have declared their love for Old Crow. It has been said that it was the drink of choice for American general and later 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. An apocryphal story about Grant's drinking has the general's critics going to President Lincoln, charging the military man with being a drunk. Lincoln is supposed to have replied, "By the way, gentlemen, can either of you tell me where General Grant procures his whiskey ? Because, if I can find out, I will send every general in the field a barrel of it !"
Another famous politician who preferred Old Crow was Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
, of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Common apocrypha of the Senate holds that he would sit through Senate sessions, boots upon his desk, whittling and sipping from a jug of Old Crow within easy reach.
World War II "triple ace" Bud Anderson
Bud Anderson
Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson is a retired officer in the United States Air Force and a "triple ace" in World War II.-Biography:Anderson was born in Oakland, California, and reared on a farm near Newcastle, California...
named his P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
Old Crow, after the whiskey.
Old Crow in popular culture
A quick glance at American culture reveals that Old Crow has made quite an impact, and is often lovingly portrayed as the drink of choice for characters who might be down and out but are often still sympathetic. Reportedly the archetypically American writers Mark TwainMark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
and Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
loved this bourbon. Twain reportedly visited the distillery in the 1880s, and Old Crow advertised this heavily; John C. Gerber sees in this commercial exploitation a sign of Twain's continuing popularity. As for Thompson, the frequent occurrences of the drink in his writing, semi-autobiographical as well as fictional have led to similar associations. The manufacturer actively pursued such publicity: in 1955, they took out an ad in College English, the journal of the National Council of Teachers of English
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English is an American professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education...
, offering $250 for every literary reference to their product.
In popular music, Old Crow is to be found in many different genres—from hip-hop, in the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
song "Slow Ride" (on the album License To Ill), to rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, in The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician Jim Heath as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist....
song "That's Showbiz" (on the album It's Martini Time
It's Martini Time
It's Martini Time is the title of the fourth album by The Reverend Horton Heat. It was released by Interscope Records in July 1996. It's Martini Time is the first Reverend Horton Heat album to feature Scott Churilla on drums, following Taz Bentley's departure from the band in 1994...
), which contains the lines "You could have a fever and the dry heaves / From that left handed cigarette / And shot of Old Crow you did between the first and second show", through punk-rock in Suits and Ladders from NOFX on Coaster album. Stereotypically a favorite of the lower classes, Old Crow is used in the very name of the old-time string band Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
, and in the song "Doreen" by alternative country band Old 97s. In the song "Gin Soaked Boy," Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
presents Old Crow as a definitive blue-collar bourbon: "I come home last night, full a fifth of Old Crow / You said you goin' to your Ma's, where the hell did you go?"
Old Crow is also mentioned in the original recording of the R&B song "Hi-Heel Sneakers
Hi-Heel Sneakers
"Hi-Heel Sneakers" is a 1964 twelve-bar blues song and single by Tommy Tucker. Tommy Tucker's original recording hit number one on the Cash Box R&B Locations chart and number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100....
", by Tommy Tucker, in a third verse which was edited out of the released version: "I've got my Old Crow liquor / And my paycheck in my hand / Because Big John's bootleg
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
whiskey / Cost much more than I can stand."
Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley
Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
and Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
team up in a song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
named "Out in the Parking Lot," originally written by Guy Clark and Darrell Scott. Lyrics include: "I'm sittin' on the fender of someone else's truck Drinkin' Old Crow Whiskey and hot 7 Up
7 Up
7 Up is a brand of a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo in the rest of the world, including Puerto Rico, where the concentrate is manufactured at the Pepsi facility in Cidra...
Out in the parkin' lot"
In an episode of Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
titled No Laughing, Beavis and Butt-head are sent to the principal's office for disrupting their class by their continuous laughing. After deciding on the boys punishment, Principal McVicker removes a bottle of Old Crow from his desk drawer and begins drinking heavily from it.
David Spade
David Spade
David Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
's character in Grown Ups
Grown Ups (2010 film)
Grown Ups is a 2010 American buddy-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. Sandler and Fred Wolf wrote the script. The film was produced by Sandler's production company Happy Madison and was distributed by Columbia...
drinks Old Crow.
The fictional detective Nick Danger, created by The Firesign Theater and voiced by Phil Austin
Phil Austin
Phil Austin is a comedian and writer. He was born in Denver, Colorado and later grew up in Fresno, California, attending Fresno High School...
, is known to drink Old Crow.