bourbon

official drink of the USA
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The word bourbon comes from the House of Bourbon, a French dynasty. Its connection to the American South is a nod to the region’s long-standing connection with France.

Through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the USA acquired land from the French First Republic. In return for $15 million, or approximately $18 per square mile, the United States got 828,000 square miles.

It was carved up into states, the entire states of what would become Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, and parts of Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.

First Bourbon: Henry IV, 1589-1610
Last Bourbon: Louis Phillipe I, 1830-1848