Spirits Industry’s Historical Trade Magazines Preserved

As the 75th anniversary of Prohibition’s repeal nears, Brown-Forman honors the beverage alcohol world by preserving pieces of industry history. Through a contribution to the Louisville Free Public Library, Brown-Forman has preserved the only known collection of volumes of the Wine & Spirit Bulletin.

The 18 bound volumes of Wine & Spirit Bulletin, which are among the spirits industry’s first trade magazines, date from 1882 to 1915. They chronicle the industry during its “golden era” prior to Prohibition. The historic publications include early stories on Brown-Forman’s founding brand, Old Forester, as well as Jack Daniel’s, Early Times and The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (the present-day Woodford Reserve Distillery).

Brown-Forman and the Louisville Free Public Library’s main branch will each maintain one full set of the reproduced volumes, and the original set will be donated to the Kentucky Historical Society. An additional set of the books will also be donated to the Library of Congress.

Brown-Forman’s position in the beverage industry has remained prominent since the company’s beginnings in 1870, and it played a key role in the development of Louisville’s Whiskey Row on present-day Main Street. Of the 89 whiskey companies located on Whiskey Row before Prohibition, Brown-Forman is the only distiller whose presence still remains.

“Brown-Forman is proud of its role in the pre-Prohibition development of the beverage alcohol industry, and we continue to shape the business moving into the future,” said Chris Morris, Brown-Forman master distiller and noted spirits historian. “We are honored to save a piece of history through preservation of these documents.”