Old Mr. Boston

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Old Mr. Boston was a distillery located at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts.

1935 first edition of Old Mr. Boston guide, showing trademark logo, the fictional "Mr. Boston". The book has been in print for more than 65 years.

The "Mr. Boston" name is known not only its brands of distilled spirits, but also for the unique "Bartender's Guide" reference book, used by both professional and home bartenders as the "Bible of Booze". The Guide was first published 1935, the early days after the Repeal of Prohibition, when the distillery started up business again. As late as 2003 new editions were printed.^[1].

The distillery was founded in the Roxbury, Massachusetts neighborhood of Boston in 1933 by Irwin "Red" Benjamin and Hyman C. Berkowitz. Old Mister Boston was known for its collectible bottles such as the 1953 Presidential Inaugural Bottle, and others. The distillery was a major employer in the Boston area from the 1930s until its closing circa 1986. Over time, through a series of changes of ownership, the words "Old" and "Mr." were dropped from the name until it was known simply as "Boston."^[1] Glenmore Distillers, the parent company, shut down operations in 1986 and the brand vanished. The building that housed Old Mr. Boston's operations is now owned by the City of Boston and is in use as a City Inspectional Services headquarters.

The Barton Brands liquor unit of New York's Canandaigua Wine Co. (now Constellation Brands) acquired the brand name in 1995 and resumed production. Barton uses the brand for a line of liquers and cordials.^[1]