Heublein Inc.
Heublein Tower, built by company president Gilbert Heublein
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| Industry |
Food and Beverage Hotels Restaurants Cocktails Quick Service Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Successor | International Distillers & Vintners |
| Founded | 1862 |
| Defunct | 1982 (as independent co.) 1998 (dissolved) |
| Headquarters | Hartford, Connecticut, USA |
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Key people
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John A. Powers, (Chairman and CEO) Robert M. Furek, (President & COO) |
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Number of employees
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28,500 |
Heublein Inc. (also known as Heublein Spirits) was an American producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and food throughout the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s its was regarded as one of the most stable financial investments, earning it inclusion in the Nifty Fifty.
Heublein was originally a restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut founded in 1862 by Andrew Heublein, a German American entrepreneur. He was soon joined in business by his two sons Gilbert F. and Louis Heublein. In 1875 they took an order to prepare a quantity of pre-mixed martini and manhattan cocktails for the annual picnic of the Governor's Foot Guard. The event had to be cancelled due to rain. A few days later, a restaurant employee was instructed to dispose of the stored cocktails. But his curiosity led to the discovery and declaration that the alcoholic drinks were "still good". It had been duly noted by the two brothers, who started selling pre-mixed cocktails in the restaurant. These ready-made cocktails were so popular that a distillery was built just to satisfy the increasing demand. The business became Gilbert F. Heublein and Bro. upon its transfer to Andrew's sons Gilbert and Louis Heublein in 1890, when the focus was turning towards their lucrative line of "ready-made" alcoholic cocktail drinks. In 1906 the business gained the rights to distribute (and later produce) A1 Steak Sauce for the US market, under license from Brand & Co. Ltd. of Vauxhall, London, UK. Heublein started sales in the US under the name "Brand's A.1. Sauce" . Early in the 20th century, A.1. sauce was a decidedly secondary sideline to Heublein's thriving cocktail business, with its promotions and advertising copy aimed at the carriage trade, delivering to hotels and even directly to the "consumer" at home. When they incorporated in the State of Connecticut on December 2, 1915, they already had offices in New York as well as Hartford. As the 1920s dawned, Heublein's business encountered a major problem, but an unexpected savior appeared from within. The US rights for A.1. Sauce proved fortuitous when their "secondary sideline" became the only product item they were legally permitted to sell for the next thirteen years. The production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the USA upon enactment of a national prohibition of alcoholic drinks in 1920 and lasting until its repeal in 1933.
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