W.A. Gaines and Company was a liquor (distilled beverage) company that specialized in American-made whiskeys. Originally started as the partnership Gaines, Berry & Co. in 1862, it was reorganized in 1868 as W.A. Gaines and Company and later became a joint stock company in 1887.[1][2] Among the company's investors and officers was Edson Bradley.
History edit
Brands included Old Crow and Old Hermitage.[3] W.A. Gaines erected the Hermitage distillery in 1868, and were the largest producers of fine "sour mash" whiskeys in the world.[1][4] Its owners were accused of being major players in the "Whiskey Trust", but that was never proved.[5]
The involvement of W.A. Gaines and Co. in the whiskey industry ended with Prohibition.[5] National Distillers, which owned the distillery and brand from the end of Prohibition until 1987, continued to use the W.A. Gaines and Company name. Jim Beam bought National in 1987.[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "The Hermitage Distillery". pre-pro.com.
- ^ "Hiram Berry Biography". wordpress.com.
- ^ "ROCK SPRING DISTILLING CO. v. W A GAINES & CO. , 246 U.S. 312 (1918)". Thomson Reuters.
- ^ "W A GAINES & CO., Frankfort, KY. 1868-1919". pre-pro.com.
- ^ a b "Edson Bradley: Washington's Whiskey Millionaire" (PDF). The Potomac Pontil.
- ^ "Old Crow Whiskey, a fine Bourbon". Whiskeywise.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2011-03-26.