Brian Haara
Bourbon. Law. Author.
Bourbon Justice
My first book, Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America, tells the real history of Kentucky’s famous spirit by using only historic lawsuits between the early distillers. These old lawsuits not only expose long-lost facts, but they also reveal the historical shenanigans and maverick mentality…
Bourbon Reviews
I like bourbon. I enjoy the broad range of flavors, the wide variety in proofs, the flexibility in cocktails, and the camaraderie that it fosters. It’s America’s Native Spirit and its historical roots run deep while it courses through every aspect of our culture. Bourbon…
Bourbon Blog
I started the Sipp’n Corn® blog in 2013 after stumbling upon a bourbon trademark case from the late 1800’s. I wanted to share my newfound discovery that dusty bourbon lawsuits tell the story of historic brands while also leading the development of American commercial…
Fire Up Your Home Still!?! Maybe not just yet.
Taxation has always been associated with whiskey in the United States. The nation’s first excise tax, levied in 1791, was on whiskey, and was enacted to fund the national debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. Whiskey would be taxed again to fund subsequent wars,…
New “We Were the First” Bourbon Lawsuit Rejected by the Sixth Circuit.
We all know bourbon brands that claim to be the first at something. One brand claims to honor the first person to have charred an oak barrel; another brand claims to be the first single barrel bourbon; yet another claims to have been the…
Cease-and-Desist Letters Just Add to a True Legacy.
As reported by MLive, a small winery and distillery near Grand Rapids, Michigan received a cease and desist letter from an unidentified “larger distiller” over its planned Legacy Whiskey brand. Legacy Winery & Spirits, in Hudsonville, Michigan, is rebranding from “Legacy” to “Barrel Thief”…
Brian Haara 