Schenley Industries was a liquor company based in New York City with headquarters in the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
and a distillery in
Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Lawrenceburg is a city and the county seat of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,129 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the largest city in Dearborn County. Lawrenceburg is in southeast Indiana, on th ...
. It owned several brands of
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon whiskey (; also simply bourbon) is a Aging (food), barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the Kingdom of France, French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncerta ...
, including Schenley, The Old Quaker Company, Cream of Kentucky, Golden Wedding Rye,
I.W. Harper, and
James E. Pepper.
Schenley Industries was also the owner of the producer of
Cruzan Rum
Cruzan Rum ( ) is a rum producer in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1760, it claims the distinction of being "the most honored rum distillery in t ...
. It also owned a controlling interest in
Blatz beer and made a
Canadian whisky
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are Blended whiskey, blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. called Schenley Reserve, also called Schenley Black Label. It was the only liquor available to
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
officers at
Midway in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, where it was held in low regard and known as "Schenley's Black Death". It also imported
Dewar's
Dewar's () is a brand of blended Scotch whisky manufactured by John Dewar & Sons, Ltd., a unit of Bacardi Ltd.
History
The Dewar's whisky brand was created by John Dewar, Sr. in 1846. Under the control of his two sons, John A. Dewar Jr. an ...
White Label Scotch.
History
Schenley Products Company was organized in the 1920s by
Lewis Rosenstiel. The company bought numerous distillers, including one in
Schenley, Pennsylvania
Schenley is an unincorporated community that is located in Gilpin Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
Schenley, situated at the confluence of the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas Rivers in Gilpin Township, Armstrong Co ...
, and acquired a license to produce medicinal whiskey. (The United States government had authorized six companies to produce medicinal spirits. The others were:
Brown-Forman,
Frankfort Distilleries, the
A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery, the
American Medicinal Spirits Company, and
James Thompson and Brother.) In 1933, when
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
ended, Schenley Distillers Company was formed as a publicly owned company. It was the largest liquor company in the United States during 1934–1937.
[ The name was changed to Schenley Industries in 1949. It was one of the "Big Four", which dominated liquor sales, and included ]Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...
, National Distillers
Old Crow is a low-priced brand of Kentucky-made straight bourbon whiskey distilled by Suntory Global Spirits, which also produces Jim Beam and several other brands of whiskey. The current Old Crow product uses the same mash bill and yeast as Ji ...
and Hiram Walker
Hiram Walker (July 4, 1816 – January 12, 1899) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He p ...
.
Schenley was acquired by the financier Meshulam Riklis
Meshulam Riklis (; 2 December 1923 – 25 January 2019) was an Israeli financier and businessman.
Early years
Born in Istanbul to a Russian-Jewish family, Riklis grew up in Tel Aviv, and attended the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium high school; bef ...
in 1968. He sold the company to Guinness
Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...
in 1987. Schenley had formerly imported Guinness into the United States.Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
from its establishment in 1953 until 1988. The trophy is still awarded for outstanding play, despite the fact the company stopped its sponsorship in 1988 and has not been sponsored since.
References
External links
Schenley Distillery Architectural Drawings
Digital Media Repository, Ball State University Libraries
Schenley Distillery Architectural Plans
Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries (PDF)
Schenley Industries Distiller and Blender
Schenley Industries at scotchwhisky.com
Bourbon whiskey
Food manufacturers based in New York City
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