Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces

alcoholic beverages Drinks containing alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered non-alcoholic. Many societies have a di ...

. It is the third-largest producer of

distilled beverage Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the ...

s worldwide, behind

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

and Pernod Ricard. The company's principal products include

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 ...

, Japanese whisky, Scotch whisky,

Irish whiskey Irish whiskey ( or ''uisce beatha'') is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' (or whisky) comes from the Irish , meaning ''water of life''. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of ...

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.

tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

, cordials, and ready-to-drink pre-mixed

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

History

James Beam began selling barrels of whiskey in 1795. By 1935, his family's business was formally established as the James B. Beam Distilling Company. Ten years later, the Chicago spirits merchant Harry Blum bought the company, and in 1968 sold it to American Brands, Inc. In 1987, the James B. Beam Distilling Company purchased National Distillers and renamed itself the Jim Beam Brands Company. It was known as Jim Beam Brands Worldwide, Inc. by the time Fortune Brands purchased it in 2005. Fortune Brands also acquired 20 brands from Allied Domecq in 2005, worth $5 billion, which turned Fortune Brands into one of the largest producers of whiskey in the international market. In 2006, the company was renamed Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. It was split from Fortune Brands to become an independent publicly traded company, Beam Inc., in 2011. As a distinct entity, the company was established as Beam Inc. on October 3, 2011, from the remainder of the Fortune Brands holding company after it sold and divested various other product lines to form a business focused exclusively on spirits and directly related products. In December 2011, Beam Inc. agreed to buy the only independent

distiller that existed at the time, the Cooley Distillery, for $95 million. On April 23, 2012, Beam announced it would acquire the

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

vodka and Calico Jack rum brands for $600 million. Beam logo

In January 2014, Suntory announced a deal to buy Beam Inc. for about $13.6 billion. The acquisition was completed in April 2014, for a final cost of about $16 billion, when it was announced that Beam would become a subsidiary named "Beam Suntory." The acquisition created a culture shock within the company, when Japanese managers implied that the American-made Jim Beam whisky could be improved with the ''

kaizen is a Japanese concept in business studies which asserts that significant positive results may be achieved due the cumulative effect of many, often small (and even trivial), improvements to all aspects of a company's operations. Kaizen is put ...

'' Japanese technique of continual improvement. In November 2015, the company sold Harveys Bristol Cream sherry, as well as the

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

brands Fundador, Terry Centenario, and Tres Cepas, to Grupo Emperador Spain S.A., part of the Alliance Global Group for €275 million. In March 2016, the company announced it would move its headquarters to the

Merchandise Mart The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building in Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it opened in 1930, it was the List of largest buildings, world's largest building, with of floor space. The Art De ...

building on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Near North Side; Beam Suntory is subleasing 110,000 sq. ft on the 16th floor of the Mart from

Motorola Mobility Motorola Mobility LLC, marketing as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android (operating system), Android. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese te ...

. The

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and Beam Suntory announced a long-term sponsorship deal in January 2017, making Beam the official spirits partner of the Cubs and

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

. In 2021, the Kamora and Leroux brands were sold to Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling. In 2024, Beam Suntory sold Courvoisier Cognac to Italy's

Campari Group Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded drink industry, beverage industry. It produces Distilled beverage, spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature produ ...

. In May 2024, Beam Suntory was re-branded as Suntory Global Spirits including the launch of a new website and visual identity.

Brands

Suntory Global Spirit beverage brands include: American whiskey: Bourbon whiskey: Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Beam's Eight Star, Booker's, Jim Beam, Kessler, Knob Creek, Legent, Maker's Mark, Old Crow, Old Grand-Dad Rye whiskey: Jim Beam Rye, Knob Creek Rye, Old Overholt Blended whiskey: Beam's Eight Star, Kessler, Canadian whisky: Alberta Premium, Canadian Club Irish whiskey:

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

, Kilbeggan, The Tyrconnell Japanese whisky: Chita, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Yamazaki, Toki (a blend of two single malts and a single grain) Scotch whisky: Single malt Scotch: Ardmore, Auchentoshan, Bowmore, Glen Garioch, Laphroaig Blended Scotch whisky: Teacher's Highland Cream Spanish whisky: DYC whisky Gin: Larios, Sipsmith, Roku Liqueur: DeKuyper, Midori,

Sourz Sourz is a fruit-flavoured liqueur owned and produced by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The liqueur is usually served as a Shooter (drink), shooter, but is also used in cocktails. It is known for being v ...

Rum: Cruzan Tequila: El Tesoro de Don Felipe, Hornitos, Sauza, Tres Generaciones, 100 Años Vodka: Effen, Haku,

, Vox Chūhai: Strong Zero In addition to brands produced directly by the company and its subsidiaries, Suntory Global Spirit imports and markets some brands produced by others, such as the DeKuyper cordial and formerly the coffee liqueur Kamora. Beam facilities also produce spirits for brands owned by other companies, such as Calvert Extra blended whiskey, now owned by Luxco.

In popular culture

In the 2003

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

movie '' Lost in Translation'', actor

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

goes to Japan to shoot a commercial for the Suntory whisky and drops the now famous slogan, "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."

FCPA Violation

In October, 2020, Beam Suntory Inc. agreed to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $19,572,885 to resolve a United States department's investigation into violations of the

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from Bribery, bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is applic ...

(FCPA). The resolution arose in part out of Beam's scheme to pay a bribe to an Indian government official in exchange for approval of a license to bottle a line of products that Beam sought to market and sell in India, and related internal controls and books and records violations, which included efforts by a then-member of Beam's legal department to affirmatively avoid uncovering information related to improper activities and practices by third-parties engaged by Beam in India that presented corruption risks. Beam entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois in connection with criminal information unsealed in the Northern District of Illinois charging Beam with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA.

References

External links