‎As one might expect, the history of bourbon is a little sketchy. Many important dates are disputed, quite a few were forgotten (sometimes on purpose), and some are a bit hazy due to the nature of the subject at hand. This timeline celebrates "America's Native Spirit," exploring a handful of key moments and the family legacies behind bourbon's biggest brands and distilleries.

The Samuels family claims the title of the oldest bourbon family that is still going strong. The story says that the family began making whiskey in 1783 when Robert Samuels created a "secret" family recipe. The family made a business of bourbon around 1840 when T.W. Samuels (Robert's grandson) constructed a distillery at Samuels Depot, Kentucky.

In 1943, after a break during Prohibition, Bill Samuels Sr. burned that famous family recipe. Bill Sr. wanted to create a bourbon without the bitterness, so he switched from rye to red winter wheat and created Maker's Mark. The brand name, bottle design, and signature red wax were his wife Margie's ideas. The couple's son, Bill Samuels Jr., took over the family business in 1975 and retired in 2011. He was succeeded by his son, Rob Samuels, who carries on the family tradition as the eighth generation in whiskey.

In 1783, Evan Williams opened his distillery on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville. This is said to have been Kentucky's first commercial distillery. The bourbon that still bears the distiller's name is one of the popular bourbons today.

Though still part of Virginia at the time, Bourbon County was established in 1785. The name honored a French royal family who aided the colonies during the Revolutionary War. The modern borders of Bourbon County, Kentucky, are not the way it was originally established; "Old Bourbon County" is comprised of 34 modern counties.

In the late 1700s, many German, Irish, and Scottish settlers migrated to the land that would become Kentucky in 1792. It was perfect for growing corn and other grains. Some knew how to make whiskey, and the local limestone-filtered water became integral in making the whiskey that would take on the bourbon name.

Current day Bourbon County has little significance in the production of bourbon whiskey. Instead, most modern production is concentrated in the Louisville, Frankfurt, and Bardstown areas.