Glenmore Distillery Company
Originally the R.Monarch Distillery founded in 1849[1] in Owensboro, Kentucky, the company entered bankruptcy proceedings in 1898. Monarch had long been producing brands that included Kentucky Tavern and Glenmore at the plant in Owensboro. In 1901 the company was acquired by James Thompson and his brother Francis P. Thompson for $30,000 and renamed the company Glenmore Distillery Company.
In 1903, the Kentucky Tavern trademark first registered.[2]
In 1904, the Old Thompson brand was introduced under the guidance of the Thompson brothers.
When James Thompson died in 1924, his sons, Col. Frank B. and James P. Thompson, assumed leadership, with Frank becoming chairman and president. The Thompsons maintained the Glenmore as a concentration warehouse, bottling and distributing medicinal whiskey during Prohibition.[3]
Glenmore proved a successful and durable company, its main brand being Kentucky Tavern.[4] In 1944 the firm purchased the Yellowstone Bourbon brand from the Taylor & Williams Distillery of Louisville.[5][6] Glenmore has followed the lead of the large firms and marketed imported whiskies and cordials through its subsidiaries, Mr. Boston, Foreign Vintages and Viking Distillery.
In 1955 Glenmore barreled its 2,000,000th barrel of bourbon whiskey and Glenmore Vodka was introduced. [7]
Glenmore introduced Glenmore Gin in 1959 and also became the first distillery to break the self-imposed ban on using women to sell distilled spirits.[8]
In 1988 - Glenmore purchases Medley Distillery also of Owensboro, KY famous for its Ezra Brooks brand of Bourbon.[9] In 2004, Medley Distillery was acquired by Angostura.
In 1989 - Ezra Brooks wins Gold Medal at the International Spirits Competition in London. Kentucky Tavern wins the Silver Medal.[10] That same year Glenmore acquired Fleischmann's Distilling Company also of Owensboro, KY.
The Thompson family maintained control of the company until 1991, at which time it was acquired by Guinness who merged it with Schenely, and named the new entity United Distillers.,[11] which sold it in 1995 to Barton Brands.[12] In March 2009, the Sazerac Company of New Orleans purchased the Tom Moore distillery and many brands owned by Constellation Spirits (formerly Barton Brands)as part of a $334 million transaction.,[13][14]
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