As mayor of Portland in 1851, prohibition advocate Neal Dow lobbied the Maine state legislature to ban alcohol sales for all but medicinal, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes. In 1858, he gained a seat in the legislature and continued to agitate for stricter prohibition laws. In 1880, Maine Republicans refused to pass more anti-alcohol legislation, and Dow quit the party to join the Prohibitionists and be their presidential candidate in that year’s election. While Dow lost to James Garfield, the legislation he worked to enact set the stage for a countrywide debate on the topic of temperance until the 21st Amendment was ratified in 1933, bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America.
Dow might frown upon the fact that the Maine Distillers Guild stands 20 strong in 2020. We, on the other hand, celebrate the Maine-sourced agave, bourbon, fruit brandy, gin, maple liqueur, rum, rye, vodka, and whisky being distilled as far south as York, north to Etna, and east to Gouldsboro. We asked guild members to send us the recipes for their favorite fall sippers.
Bucolic Blends
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