Our foundation of nature-laid limestone shelves
and their pure, pure water bubbling up or
flowing downhill from springs
make our horses and our whiskey strong.  

Horses require spirit;
bourbon needs sinew.
From earliest settlement, corn flourished.
Farmers preserved excess in barrels.  

Commercial ventures emerged,
and by 1918 — 210 distilleries graced the Bluegrass.
Thousands worked in distilleries,
cooperages, glassworks, and saloons.  

The third state to ratify the 18th Amendment,
Kentucky turned her back on economics and heritage.