NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- On this episode of Beyond Black History Month, we’re turning our attention towards the whiskey industry. Listen as host Femi Redwood explores why Black business owners are still struggling to get their feet in the door despite the drink owing its success to a single enslaved Black man.
The history of whiskey:
• During the American revolution whiskey was such a popular drink that it was used as currency.
• Because it became such a hot commodity, enslaved people were forced to help brew it to keep up with the demand.
• Distilleries relied on the labor from enslaved people until slavery was abolished nearly a century later.
• Jack Daniels’ whiskey, which would later become a household name, was actually distilled by an enslaved (and later free) man named Nathaniel Nearest Greene.
• Greene’s involvement was kept a secret by the company until 2016.
What you need to know:
• Out of over 30 million different small businesses in America, 100,000 are Black-owned.
• In total, there are approximately 8,500 breweries and 2,000 distilleries in America.
Black Americans represent about 12% of U.S. beer drinkers, but they only own about 1% of American beer breweries.
• Although Black Americans represent 13 percent of the US population, they account for 9 percent of all Whiskey drinkers and they also own less than 1% of the country’s distilleries.
What our expert says:
• In this episode we speak to restaurateur and mixologist Che Ramos a.k.a. The Black Bourbon Guy.
• He says, “We can't always prove that these people were working as part of this distillation operation, but it's kind of hard to imagine a world in which they weren't given the physical demands and the expertise that these people often brought to the work.”
• Because drinkers can never be sure about the history of the favorite brands, he also says it’s important to ask questions, “Ask about the histories of these distilleries and the people who made all these products and the effigies from which these companies are making millions of dollars.”