The history of bourbon is very much like the product itself, very distinct with hints of the unknown. It really depends on who you talk to. First, the undisputed facts are that the European colonization of what became the United States began around 1565 and over two centuries later, many colonists still populated the east coast. This was due to the fact that most of the interior of the United States was claimed by the English and French. The French and Indian War in 1763, which England won, opened up the interior regions to the colonists. In addition, The Whiskey Rebellion pushed even more settlers into the lush interior regions. The best way into these areas was through the Cumberland Gap, located near where Virginia ends at the modern Kentucky-Tennessee border.  Thus the settlement of Kentucky slowly began, and with these settler both spirits and spirit distilling techniques came with them.  Most settlers were of Irish and Scottish decent and were farmers-distillers by trade.  In these times of travel to the west, water was not readily available, and settlers often carried jugs of sprits both because they kept for long periods of time and were portable but also for their medicinal use.  Plus, transporting grain that has been converted into whiskey was cheaper and easier than transporting the grain itself, plus grain whiskey is worth more than the grain that went into it and two bushels of rye can be converted into 5 gallons of whiskey.  So there were plenty of reason for settlers to bring their whiskey making skills, trade and product with them.

Bourbon County, originally a vast western extension of Virginia, was established in 1785 and named after the French royal family. Today there are 34 Kentucky counties that were originally part of Bourbon County.  Thomas Jefferson, who was Governor of Virginia, offered sixty acres of land in Kentucky in exchange for a permanent structure and crops of native corn to encourage settlers to move into the region. As well, in 1800 Spain sold the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi back to France, and three years later France sold it to the United States.  Trade with New Orleans became profitable in Kentucky, and that included trade in distilled spirits.  At the time in New Orleans cognac was the drink of choice.  Cognac was a type of sweet red/brown colored spirit.  To tap into this market Kentucky Distillers had to offer a similar product.  At the time whiskey in Kentucky was clear in color.  This might have led them to also start storing their whiskey in new charred oak barrels, because this changed the color of the Kentucky product from clear to brown.  Their thinking was this might be more attractive to New Orleans market to the south.  Not to mention, barrels where perfect to store and transport spirits.  To make it even more attractive, the spirit may have been given a name that evoked French Royalty - Bourbon.  The Ohio River port, which shipped Bourbon to the rest of the U.S. would stamp bourbon barrels "Old Bourbon" which referred to its origins, not its age.  Perhaps this new spirit was called "Bourbon".  

There are a variety of claims by historians about who invented bourbon, or who first distilled Bourbon in Kentucky. Some of them include the Boone Family, the Isaac Shelby Family, and Thomas Jefferson. But one of the most well known claims historians point to is that of the Rev. Elijah Craig who "invented bourbon" in 1789. This claim, first published in 1874, is unsupported by any documentation.  Other early historians, declared Evan Williams as Kentucky's first distiller. The date cited, 1783, is also unsupported by documentation. Williams and Craig were both real people who distilled and sold whiskey, and the products that bear their names today are some of the finest made. 

Regardless of who invented bourbon and how it's name came about,  the land and the climate of Kentucky ultimately invented bourbon - probably unbeknownst to the early distillers.  Kentucky's variable climate, with distinct seasons and temperature changes coupled with her plentiful limestone rock that filtered the water and Kentucky's abundant grains have all contributed to the great product of Bourbon that we know today.