Carlton, Carla Harris. Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey. Clerisy Press, 2017. First edition.
The opening quiz explicitly declines to identify one first bourbon maker, first date or certain name origin. The narrative covers frontier grain distilling, trade through Louisville and New Orleans, charred-casks stories and development of more controlled production attributed to James Crow. The 1826 barrel-charring letter and 1821 advertised bourbon are presented through secondary historical research, not original documents reproduced in full.
Carla Harris Carlton, Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey (Clerisy Press, 2017), Chapter 1 — origins, river transport and naming, supplied PDF screens 41–47.
Original PDF screen 47
Original PDF screen 41
Carlton, Barrel Strength Bourbon, supplied PDF screens 41–47.
Chapter 1 — origins, river transport and naming
Ready as a source locator, not independent claim verification. E-reader capture screens, not print pagination. Covers competing Bourbon County/Bourbon Street explanations and Elijah Craig fire/reuse legends; retain as attributed interpretations or lore. The discussion does not establish a universal earliest date. Specific dates and the horse-trading explanation for Kentucky thoroughbreds need independent corroboration.
Source and locator
No access, Chapter 1 — origins, river transport and naming, supplied PDF screens 41–47. 
Formatted outputs
Carla Harris Carlton, Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey (Clerisy Press, 2017), Chapter 1 — origins, river transport and naming, supplied PDF screens 41–47.
Short form: Carlton, Barrel Strength Bourbon, supplied PDF screens 41–47.
Bibliography: Carlton, Carla Harris. Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America’s Whiskey. Clerisy Press, 2017. First edition.
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Verification checklist
Covers competing Bourbon County/Bourbon Street explanations and Elijah Craig fire/reuse legends; retain as attributed interpretations or lore. The discussion does not establish a universal earliest date. Specific dates and the horse-trading explanation for Kentucky thoroughbreds need independent corroboration.