Press

Lots of people are talking about Bourbon Justice.  Here are some of my favorites:

“Haara is a good storyteller… For readers who might be hesitant to dive into a book of legal history, Haara makes the topic entertaining and approachable. He also includes tasting notes for selected bourbons. The suggestion to read and talk about the book in the company of bourbon is well taken. This book will appeal to general audiences, legal historians, and those with an interest in bourbon history.”–The Historian Journal (May 14, 2020).

“There are lots of bourbon books out there but none quite like Brian Haara’s Bourbon Justice. … With any other subject, this book would probably seem like required reading for a college class you hated, but the colorful cast of characters throughout bourbon’s history, from Oscar Pepper to Bill Samuels to George T. Stagg, make it a surprising page turner. It also helps that Haara does a good job of not taking himself too seriously and lets the history speak for itself.”–Drinkhacker (December 12, 2019).

Bourbon Justice is “eminently readable” and adding “This book certainly belongs in every American law library. However, this work goes well beyond the law; the story of Bourbon is the story of America’s history. Any reader with an interest in our past will enjoy this excellent book about a wonderful beverage that has had an important effect on our nation.”–Rutgers Book Reviews (July 2019 ).

“To understand the history of whiskey in America is to understand the history of America itself, and Brian Haara’s new book, Bourbon Justice, with a foreword by bourbon historian Fred Minnick, does an excellent job of fleshing out the intersections between the two.”–Alcohol Professor (October 23, 2018).

“It’s exactly what I hoped it would be.  It’s a fast-paced romp through the centuries of torts and lawsuits involving presidents, distillers, rectifiers, legal interlopers, and more.  It’s like his blog on steroids.  And that’s a great thing.”–Modern Thirst (October 19, 2018).

“The material is fresh and current, and will appeal both to the newly interested and the experts alike. Bourbon Justice feels like a complete journey through history, bringing it full circle from Colonel Taylor’s concerns of old to today’s perils of purchasing adulterated or counterfeit whiskey on the secondary market. It’s a shockingly good debut book and one that should be on everybody’s Holiday shopping list.”–Bourbon & Banter (October 18, 2018).

“Bourbon Justice is a captivating read that provides some surprising insights into the legal history of bourbon, and I highly recommend it for bourbon lovers [and more]…”–Fordham Law School: Keeping Up With New Legal Titles (May 2020).

Highly recommending Bourbon Justice and noting “I was struck by the parallels that might be drawn between the laws that developed around bourbon and the struggles of the recently de-criminalized marijuana industry in California. The modern marijuana industry seems to face some of the same issues that the bourbon industry did post-Prohibition.”–Marin County Bar Association, San Rafael, CA (April 29, 2019).

“Mr. Haara is bourbon epicure.  There might be more interesting stories about bourbon than are told in Bourbon Justice, but after spending some time with it, the reader might not be able to imagine what they are.”  Bourbon Justice is “an impeccably researched and sharply observed volume.”–Kentucky Bench & Bar (March/April 2019).

Over 100 bourbon lawsuits, “clearly and concisely recounted by Louisville attorney and bourbon blogger Brian Haara, offer a fascinating perspective on how whiskey played a major role in shaping American consumer protection and trademark laws, among others.  Even if you are a teetotaler, bourbon litigation has had an important impact on your life.  This admirable book will be a valuable addition for any whiskey enthusiast, but it will also be a fine read for anyone with a serious interest in American history.”–LEO Weekly (April 3, 2019).

Bourbon Justice “cut[s] straight to the factual nitty-gritty — to lay down the law, as it were, on the truth behind bourbon and its single-handed effect on American law.”–Middletown Magazine (March 2019).

Bourbon Justice uses court and legal records to unearth the facts behind the legend and lore of bourbon in an enjoyable and entertaining read.–Wisconsin Lawyer (February 12, 2019).

“Haara dusted the old dusty lawsuits and brought out our untold story buried in those lawsuits and shelved safely away from public eyes. He gives a new and fresh perspective to look at the history of the United States and bourbon. This brilliantly-written history book is written for both historians and laypeople. Haara has made reading law and history enjoyable.”–The Washington Book Review (February 6, 2019).

“Current-day brands do not always tell these intriguing historical stories, but instead some of them get too wrapped up in marketing and exaggeration.  Truth is better than fiction for most storied brands.”–Bourbon and Barns (December 13, 2018).

Haara covers “everything from what makes it bourbon in the first place and common misconceptions (as even the Kentucky Supreme Court recently got wrong, bourbon has no minimum aging period) to the games brands play with the myriad of distilleries that exist only on paper.”–WDRB News Louisville (December 3, 2018).

“On his first page, Brian boldly proclaims that bourbon’s history is ‘the foundation of American commercial law.’  By page 152, it’s hard to disagree.  Bourbon, very much like the law, is a generational craft—and I’m grateful for this opportunity to study it.”–Louisville Bar Briefs (November 1, 2018).

“In the end, you will learn something about bourbon, you will learn something about business, and you will learn something about the less talked about history that made America the country it is today. I highly recommend that you run right out and buy it.”–Bourbon Guy (October 30, 2018).

Bourbon Justice is definitely a unique bourbon book that “is full of entertaining facts and anecdotes, and information of interest to the trivia-lover, like me.”–Travel Distilled (April 18, 2019).

Mike Veach, a bourbon historian, author, and 2006 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductee, naming Bourbon Justice “one of the modern classics in Bourbon history books” and adding that “Bourbon Justice is a must-have book for any Bourbon library.”–Michael Veach (August 30, 2019).

Pondering whether bourbon should be tops on the list of what people recognize as pure Kentucky—before the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Fried Chicken—because bourbon helped shape the very foundation of the country.–Kentucky Living Magazine (August 30, 2019).

Bourbon Justice “actually digs into the law cases behind Bourbon, and presents the information in a very enjoyable read.  Who knew that reading about law cases could actually be interesting?”–New Bourbon Drinker (October 8, 2018).

“7 Questions with Brian F. Haara”–Insider Louisville (November 16, 2018).

Bourbon Justice takes a unique approach to finding true bourbon history.–LF Living (February 2019).

“Bourbon Justice is a must-add to your holiday shopping list.”–East End Living (December 2018).

“This book tracks the history of bourbon and bourbon law and uses it as the base for growth of the United States as a nation. Beginning in the frontier through the restless entrepreneurial boon of the spirit, bourbon is responsible for many areas of law, such as trademark, breach of contract, fraud, governmental regulation and taxation, and consumer protection. More than just the history of a spirit, Bourbon Justice tells a part of the larger American story.”–New Worlder (September 11, 2018).