Established in 1856 in Paris, Kentucky, a town tucked away in the heart of Bourbon County, the original Chicken Cock American Whiskey rose to popularity during the 19th century. James A. Miller built a distillery and started making Chicken Cock, a type of whiskey unique to the bluegrass region. It was an infamous staple of prohibition-era speakeasies, like the Cotton Club, and was smuggled inside in nondescript tin cans. Unfortunately, the original distillery where Chicken Cock was made, burned down in the 1950s. Known as The Famous Old Brand, Chicken Cock Whiskey has now been resurrected, because good spirits never go out of style. Staying true to the rich 160-year-old brand identity while modernizing it just a touch, the products we’ve created are an unsurpassable collection of heritage whiskies.
Just a few years after he founded Chicken Cock, James A. Miller died, leaving behind a few thousand dollars to a trusted distillery clerk and a high-quality whiskey brand that was still in its infancy. The clerk, a man named George G. White, continued Chicken Cock Whiskey and made it the legend it became.
Together with a few partners, White was able to buy the distillery and continue production. Soon after, Chicken Cock Distillery was mashing up to 400 bushels of grain per day, filling 9,000 barrels of Chicken Cock Whiskey per year.
In 1880, White changed the name of the distillery to G.G. White Distillery. While the name changed, the iconography of the bourbon remained the same and White continued to pay homage to James A. Miller by renaming the spirit itself to The Old J.A. Miller Chicken Cock.