🥃 Brown-Forman

Brown-Forman is an American spirits company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. According to its history timeline, George Garvin Brown established J.T.S. Brown & Brother in 1870 and was the first to sell whiskey in a sealed glass bottle. Its main brand is Jack Daniel's.

History. In 1890 Brown entered a partnership with George Forman, and in 1901 Brown-Forman was formally incorporated. During Prohibition (1920–1933) Owsley Brown, the founder's son, obtained a licence to bottle whiskey for medicinal purposes. In 1924 the company moved its whiskey stocks and headquarters to Louisville's West End. In 1956 it acquired Jack Daniel's by buying the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and in 1996 Woodford Reserve was launched.

Ownership. According to the company's January 2023 press release, its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange (BFA and BFB) and, under the exchange's rules, it is a family-controlled 'controlled company'. The same release says its brands are sold in more than 170 countries and that about 5,200 people work for the company worldwide.

Acquisitions. Casa Herradura in 2007, the Benriach Distillery Company in 2016, and Diplomático rum, whose purchase was completed on 5 January 2023 and which added an ageing, bottling and shipping facility in Panama.

Why this matters to you. One company owns different drinks, so check the type and production rules of each on its brand page. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.