Supports a new post-repeal systems node. The argument is a concise secondary synthesis and remains qualified pending firm-level, regional, and consumption-data corroboration.
Kosar argues that repeal did not restore pre-Prohibition conditions because institutional loss and taste adaptation continued into the postwar market.
After repeal, many Kentucky distilleries and small whiskey companies did not return; wartime production soon diverted capacity; and consumer familiarity with lighter gin, vodka, Canadian whisky, and Scotch pushed surviving American producers toward younger, lighter products that weakened rye’s position.
Printed p. 110 / PDF sheet 112
Printed p. 109 / PDF sheet 111
Whiskey in the USA — A Rough Century Concluded with a Boom
Visually checked against printed pp. 109–110 / PDF sheets 111–112 on 2026-08-25.
Paraphrase of visually verified evidence at printed pp. 109–110 / PDF sheets 111–112.
Evidence
After repeal, many Kentucky distilleries and small whiskey companies did not return; wartime production soon diverted capacity; and consumer familiarity with lighter gin, vodka, Canadian whisky, and Scotch pushed surviving American producers toward younger, lighter products that weakened rye’s position.
Location and context
Kosar argues that repeal did not restore pre-Prohibition conditions because institutional loss and taste adaptation continued into the postwar market.
Annotation
This supports a new post-repeal systems node but remains a concise national synthesis pending firm-level, regional, and consumption-data corroboration.