Throughout the 1800s, Chicago’s elevation rested at the shores of Lake Michigan, preventing natural drainage from the city’s surface. Swamp-like living conditions developed and triggered a series of plagues that claimed the lives of roughly 6% of the population.
By the 1850s, the crisis led engineers to establish a city-wide sewer and storm system – the first of its kind in the United States. However, the system required the city’s infrastructure to be physically lifted between 4 to 14 feet higher than its existing grade.
Over the next two decades, a fleet of workers equipped with jackscrews gradually raised Chicago's streets and buildings. Each undertaking required the jackscrews to be synchronized in movement, allowing new foundations to be built as the structures were lifted. By 1860 - in just five days - engineers raised more than half a city block collectively weighing approximately 35,000 tons, using over 6,000 jackscrews.
Jackscrew Vodka is inspired by one of the boldest architectural and engineering successes of the 19th century. Much like distilling vodka, great precision and calculation were paramount to its success.
