Breakdown: Who Owns Who In The World Of Whiskey?
Going to the liquor store for a bottle of whiskey can be a bit intimidating with the sheer number of bottles and different brands on the shelves. Take Elijah Craig for example. On the label, it states that it was “Distilled and Bottled at the Elijah Craig Distillery Co.” When you search google, it doesn’t bring up a google map of where the Elijah Craig Distillery is. The same thing is true if you find yourself looking at a bottle of Blanton’s. “Blanton Distilling Company” is largely displayed, yet it is Buffalo Trace Distillery that produces the whiskey. Even our own Whiskey Reviewer, t8ke, can have trouble discerning what is craft and what comes from a macro distiller.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Breaking Down the Brands of Major Whiskey Companies
Whiskey companies can have a laundry list of brands, which can have multiple products under each label, or even multiple distilleries. Now, just because similar sounding whiskies are coming from one distillery doesn’t mean they are the exact same or trying to profit off of name recognition, but always having transparency and as much information as a consumer is beneficial when deciding where to spend your money. So let’s take a look at the portfolios of the biggest corporations. We will focus on whiskey brands, but most also produce different categories of spirits as well.
Beam-Suntory
American Whiskey
Jim Beam Distillery
- Baker’s
- Basil Hayden’s
- Booker’s
- Jim Beam
- Knob Creek
- Legent
- Old Crow
- Old Grand-Dad
- Old Overholt
- Red Stag
Canadian Whisky
Walkerville Distillery
- Alberta Premium
- Alberta Springs
- Windsor
Irish Whiskey
Killbeggan Distillery
Japanese Whiskey
Chita Distillery
Hakushu Distillery
Blends
Toki
Scotch Whisky
McClelland Distillery
Blends
Teacher’s
Brown-Forman
American Whiskey
Old Forester
- Cooper’s Craft
- Old Forester
Irish Whiskey
Slane Distillery
Scotch Whisky
Glenglassaugh Distillery
Constellation Group
American Whiskey
Nelson Green Brier
Diageo
American Whiskey
Cascade Hollow Distillery
- Cascade Moon
- George Dickel
Stizel-Weller Distillery
Blends
Seagram’s 7 Crown
Canadian Whisky
Gimli Distillery
Scotch Whisky
Cardhu Distillery
Glenkinchie Distillery
Knockando Distillery
Blends
Buchanan’s
Haig
Vat 69
White Horse
Other Brands
Heaven Hill
American Whiskey
Evan Williams Experience
- Square 6
Heaven Hill Distillery
- Bernheim
- Cabin Still
- Echo Spring
- Elijah Craig
- Evan Williams
- Fighting Cock
- Five Brothers
- Georgia Moon
- Heaven Hill
- Henry McKenna
- J.T.S. Brown
- J.W. Dant
- Kentucky Deluxe
- Kentucky Supreme
- Larceny
- Mellow Corn
- Old Fitzgerald
- Parker’s Heritage Collection
- Pikesville
- Rittenhouse
- T.W. Samuels
- Virgin
Canadian Whisky
Black Velvet Distillery
Pernod Ricard
American Whiskey
Firestone & Robertson
Canadian Whisky
Hiram Walker Distillery
- Hiram Walker
- JP Wiser
- Lot 40
Irish Whiskey
Midleton Distillery
Scotch Whisky
Allt-A-Bhainne
Breaval Distillery
Caperdonich Distillery
Dalmunach Distillery
Dumbarton Distillery
Glen Keith Distillery
Miltonduff Distillery
Strathisla Distillery
Blends
100 Pipers
Ballantine’s
Barrelhound
Clan Campbell
Doctor’s Special
Long John
Passport
Sazerac
American Whiskey
A. Smith Bowman Distillery
Barton 1792 Distillery
- 1792
- Barton
- Colonel Lee
- Flatboat
- Thomas S. Moore
- Tom Moore
- Very Old Barton
Buffalo Trace Distillery
- Ancient Age
- Benchmark
- Blanton’s
- Buffalo Trace
- Col. E.H. Taylor
- Eagle Rare
- Elmer T. Lee
- George T. Stagg
- Hancock’s Presidential Reserve
- Old Charter
- Old Charter Oak
- O.F.C.
- Old Taylor
- Rock Hill Farms
- Sazerac
- Single Oak Project
- Stagg Jr.
- Thomas H. Handy
- Van Winkle
- Weller
Glenmore Distillery
- Kentucky Gentleman
- Kentucky Tavern
- Zackariah Harris
Other Brands
- Colonel Lee
- Early Times
- Fireball
- Fleischmann’s
- Imperial
- Legacy
- Mister Sam
- Old Thompson
- Southern Comfort
- Ten High
Canadian Whisky
Canadian Mist Distillery
Les Distilleries Sazerac du Canada
Other Brands
- Caribou Crossing
- Rich & Reserve
- Seagram’s V.O.
Indian Whisky
- Paul John Single Malts
Irish Whiskey
- Michael Collins
- Paddy
Scotch Whisky
- Imperial
- John Begg
- Last Drop Distillers
Willett
American Whiskey
Willett Distillery
- Johnny Drum
- Kentucky Vintage
- Noah’s Mill
- Old Bardstown
- Pure Kentucky
- Rowan’s Creek
- Willett
So as you can see, just 8 different corporations account for a massive amount of distilleries and brands in the whiskey world. On top of that, these companies are constantly selling to each other or looking to acquire other brands to expand their portfolio and profits. This isn’t an indictment of the whiskey, but always interesting to see where some brands that sound completely different can come through the same bottling line
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