Glenmore Distillery Company was a large distillery company based in
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lo ...
best known as a producer of
bourbon whiskey
Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon ...
. In 2009, the company was acquired by the
Sazerac Company
Sazerac Company, Inc is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ( , ,
Kentucky Tavern
Kentucky Tavern is a brand of straight bourbon whiskey produced by the Sazerac Company at the Barton Distillery located in Bardstown, Kentucky, who acquired the brand from United Distillers in 1995. The brand was originally produced and owned by ...
and Glenmore at their plant in Owensboro. In 1901 the company was acquired by James Thompson and his brother Francis P. Thompson for $30,000 and renamed the Glenmore Distillery Company.
In 1903, the Kentucky Tavern trademark was first registered. 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
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
.
Glenmore proved a successful and durable company, its main brand being Kentucky Tavern. In 1944 the firm purchased the
Yellowstone Bourbon
Yellowstone is a brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It is distilled by the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky.
History
In 1872, Yellowstone was the name given to an 1854 brand of Kentucky Bourbon produced by the J. B. ...
brand from the Taylor & Williams Distillery of Louisville. Glenmore followed the lead of other large firms and marketed imported whiskies and cordials through its subsidiaries, Mr. Boston, Foreign Vintages and Viking Distillery.
In 1955 Glenmore barreled its 2 millionth barrel of bourbon and Glenmore
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
was introduced. 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.
The Thompson family maintained control of the company until 1991, at which time it was acquired by
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ...
United Distillers
United Distillers was a Scottish company formed in 1987 from combining the businesses of Distillers Company and Arthur Bell & Sons, both owned by Guinness. The company owned six single malt Scotch brands, which were relaunched as the ''Classic ...
, which sold it in 1995 to
Barton Brands
Barton Brands, Ltd. was a company that produced a variety of distilled beverages and liqueurs and is now part of the Sazerac Company, which is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has its principal offices in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bar ...
. In March 2009, the
Sazerac Company
Sazerac Company, Inc is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is an American producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits. Constellation is the largest beer import company in the US, measured by sales, and has the third-largest market share (7.4 percen ...
as part of a $334 million transaction. Sazerac maintains the Glenmore distillery as a bottling plant, In 2016 Glenmore started distillation again of Rum.