Echo Spring 1916 Bottled in Bond Bourbon / Prohibition Era Bottling

Distilled in 1916, this bourbon was protected in bond from Prohibition Act of 1920, which made alcohol production and consumption illegal. The Volstead Act was in place between 1920 and 1933, and during this period, some distillers were bale to continue to bottle their whiskey as a medicinal product. Only doctors could prescribe these 1 pint bottles, and bakers were also given a weekly ration of whiskey and rum to use in their cooking.

The whiskey was distilled at the A. Mayfield & Co distillery in Kentucky, which was part of the J M Atherton Company, established in the mid-19th century. They were eventually acquired (likely under severe pressure) by the nefarious Whiskey Trust. The Trust, officially known as the Distiller's Securities Corporation had been set up initially to consolidate and bring regulation to the US whiskey industry, but quickly developed a reputation for strong arming and bullying distillery owners into making deals with them. Atherton distilleries were run on the Trust's behalf by Julius Kessler, but were forced to close in 1920 with the enactment of Prohibition.

The Whiskey Trust later reinvented itself as National Distillers in 1924, and heavily invested in the American Medicinal Spirits Company, providing them in this instance with the Echo Spring brand and the Mayfield distillery's stock. They bottled this in 1927 using their Kentucky Distilleries & Warehouse Co subsidiary.

National Distillers would go on to become one of America's "big four" whiskey companies following the repeal of the Prohibition Act in 1933.