Brown-Forman , one of the world’s biggest liquor companies, began its ascent during the 1870s, when pharmaceutical salesman George Garvin Brown joined his half-brother J. T. S. (John Thompson Street) Brown selling liquor in Louisville. The company’s early success was built on sales of Old Forester bourbon (originally called Old Forrester), which it first sourced from outside producers but began making on its own shortly after the turn of the century. After weathering Prohibition, Brown-Forman was helmed by members of the Brown family for most of the remaining century, diversifying into all manner of alcoholic beverages, buying into and selling out of numerous brands and operations along the way, including Woodford Reserve, Early Times, Herradura tequila, Finlandia vodka, and many others. In 1956, Brown-Forman paid $20 million for the Jack Daniel Distillery (which then produced only fifty-four barrels per day), an acquisition that helped fuel the company’s growth as Jack Daniel’s grew to sell twelve million cases per year by 2015.
See also Jack Daniel’s and Old Forester.
Zoeller, Chester. Bourbon in Kentucky: A History of Distilleries in Kentucky. Louisville, KY: Butler, 2010.
Cecil, Sam K. Bourbon: The Evolution of Kentucky Whiskey. New York, NY. Turner Publishing Company, 2010
“Owsley Brown, Noted in Distillery Field,” Associated Press, reprinted in the New York Times, November 2, 1945.
“Brown-Forman Corp.: Company Acquires the Jack Daniel Distillery,” New York Times, August 29, 1956.
“Distiller is 110 and Still Growing,” New York Times, August 1, 1980.
Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies, 55th edition, 2012.
By: Reid Mitenbuler