Atherton Whiskey

Atherton Whiskey was a pre-prohibition brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey first produced by J M Atherton & Co, a chemical and distilling business. First bottled and marketed in 1867,[1] it was once part of the largest whiskey making operation in Kentucky.[2]

The J. M. Atherton Company (1867-1899)

The J M Atherton Company was established in an area now known as Athertonville, Kentucky in 1867 [3] by John McDougal Atherton, who had entered into this profession as a young man.[4] Marshall Key, his stepfather was his business partner.[5] Company headed paper from 1872 refers to J.M. Atherton & Co and immediately underneath in larger font “Distiller’s of pure copper whisky” (whiskey without an “e”). Once they reached 200 employees, they became the largest employer in LaRue County. Other business enterprises to support the distiller followed such as the Atherton Hotel.[6] Already with a courthouse and a new school;[7] soon after it was named in honor of John M Atherton, who had brought prosperity to many of the inhabitants.[8]

Atherton and Mayfield were the companies two largest distilleries, and both were located in Athertonville and registered to a location in New Haven, Kentucky. John M Atherton appointed his cousin, Alexander Mayfield, as manager of the Mayfield distillery, naming the plant in his honor. The other local distilleries under The J M Atherton Company were the Clifton and Windsor distilleries.[9]

List of whiskey brands produced by J. M. Atherton & Co
Brand [10]Description / years in production
Atherton Whiskey100 US Proof pure old Kentucky Whiskey. Produced at the Athertonville plant (1867-1920). Bottled by the American Medicinal Spirits Company during prohibition, which had outlawed production. Exemption granted for medicinal prescription or weekly baker's ration.

Last Bottled in 1933 in 16oz full pint, 8” tall, glass bottle with a ‘cork and glass’ stopper

Atherton Old FashionedSold by J.W. Birmingham & Co, Boston, Massachusetts. Blend whiskey. Bottled in a full 1/2 pint. Clear glass with a cork stopper.
Baker
Brownfield
Carter Whiskey
Castor
Clifton
Famous AthertonBottled by the distiller in a clear light amethyst 11 1/2 inch tall whiskey bottle
Howard
J. M. Atherton
Kenwood
MayfieldA sour mash whiskey produced from 1869 by A. Mayfield & Co, a division of J M Atherton Company
Old Barbee100 US Proof 13 year old whiskey; produced by A. Mayfield & Co.Bottled by the American Medicinal Spirits Co during prohibition, which had outlawed production.
Old Indian River Rye
Roanoke
Whitehead
Windsor

By the end of 1881 the company had on its books orders of 55,000 barrels of its several brands.[11]

In 1882 The J. M. Atherton Company headquarters moved to Whiskey Row, Louisville on 125 W Main St.[12] This historic area of the city is now referred to as West Main District, Louisville. As the founders’ interests moved on into the real estate business, his son Peter Lee Atherton,[13] took over the management of all distillery operations, as vice president. During this time the company portfolio included a total of four distilleries within LaRue County, making them the largest product of Bourbon by volume in the United States.[14]

John M Atherton was a leader in the Kentucky distilling industry, active within the Distillers and Cattle Feeders' Trust.[15] Known as the “Whiskey Trust”, it started to receive scrutiny from politicians at a national level.[16] A congressional committee was set up, and headed by William Windom. John M Atherton testified before Congress about issues involving taxation and the bonding period for whiskey. On July 27, 1888, he provided congressmen an insight into many aspects of the distilling industry and the Whiskey Trust.[17][18][19]

In 1890, the company used 2,200 bushels of grain and produced 6,600 gallons of Whiskey. Their maximum storage capacity at Athertonville, Kentucky was 150,000 gallons.[20]

However, it was a time when some unsavory Distiller's were bottling paint thinner, or at best, adding a splash of caramel coloring, and calling it whiskey. Such actions resulted in the passing of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 legislation to protect the consumer and raise product standards. To comply, J. M. Atherton and their competitors had to ensure their product was from only one distillation season. It also had to be distilled by them at one distillery and be at least four years old. It had to be stored and aged in government bonded warehouses; be at least 100 proof, and absolutely nothing (except water) could be added. J. M. Atherton specified “Bottled in bond” on all their product line, in attempts to reassure the consumer.

After more than 30 years with John M Atherton at the helm, the brand and all the company assets were acquired by the Whiskey Trust. The J. M. Atherton Company was officially transferred to a holding company of the Whiskey Trust; the Kentucky Distilleries & Warehouse Company in May 1899. At the time of sale, the company had a total production at all four distilleries of 350 barrels a day and warehousing for over 200,000 barrels.[21]

The sale of the company was reported in the New York Times on May 12, 1899.[22]

The Whiskey Trust & the Julius Kessler (1899-1920)

The Kentucky Distilleries & Warehouse Company, a manifestation of the “Whiskey Trust”, was set up initially to consolidate and bring regulation to the US whiskey industry. However very quickly it started taking control of many bourbon distilleries with Coon Hollow Whiskey (1881).

General management of all operations was soon after handled by Julius Kessler, who was based in Chicago.[23] In 1909 he announced his retirement from the whiskey business,[24] although that appears not to have occurred, resulting in greater independence from the Whiskey Trust. He went on to register brand “Atherton” as a US patent in 1911.

His operations, including his own brand Kessler Whiskey, were forced to close with the enactment of Prohibition in 1920.

The Prohibition era (1920-1933)

Most of the former Atherton distilleries did not survive prohibition. With the onset of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Whiskey Trust would eventually become part of American Medicinal Spirits Company in 1927. During prohibition they produced "medicinal whiskey" under the Atherton brand in one pint bottles for sick, blind, and non-mobile patients. They evolved into the National Distillers Group. None of the original Atherton brand names were used after this period ended.

Cummings Distillery Corporation of Athertonville (1933-1946)

The “mothballed” Atherton distillery, complete with plant and equipment was acquired and rebuilt by Arthur J. Cummings Jr. and a partner in 1933. It was renamed the Cummins-Collins distillery. [25] Production resumed on August 13, 1935 after being shut down for seventeen years. On September 26, 1935 it was reported that orders were so great, they doubled the mashing.[26] By the time of commencing production it was renamed the Cummings Distillery Corporation of Athertonville. Their brands included “A.J. Cummins Kentucky Straight Bourbon” and “Singing Sam Whiskey”. However the site fell into disrepair with Cummings closing down the plant shortly before it was acquired by the Seagram Company in 1946.

Seagrams Athertonville distillery (1946-1972)

The Athertonville distillery supported Seagram's extensive portfolio of blended whiskeys.[27] The core of the facility was destroyed by a fire on February 19, 1972 and put over 50 employees out of work. This story was covered in depth in the Kentucky Standard on February 24, 1972. A fire had broken out in the still house about 3:40 a.m. Fire crew fought the blaze for four hours, containing the fire within the brick walls. The power house, fermenting room and evaporator escaped damage and did not spread to the three warehouses where the whiskey was stored.[28] All distillery operations ceased on the old Atherton site after this date.

Since 1990, warehouses at the former distillery site have been used by an independent company specializing in the manufacture of whiskey barrels.

Articles

See also

References
  1. Kroll, Harry Harrison (1967). "Bluegrass, Belles, and Bourbon: A Pictorial History of Whisky in Kentucky".
  2. John E. Kleber, ed. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville (includes entry for J. M. Atherton and P. L. Atherton). p. 52. ISBN 0813121000.
  3. Hibbs, Dixie (2002). Bardstown: Hospitality, History, and Bourbon. ISBN 9780738523910.
  4. "Bourbon Enthusiast: Reference to J Atherton's partnership in the Headley and Farra distillery established in 1858".
  5. Michael R. Veach - Kentucky Bourbon Hall Of Fame Historian and Author (2020). "Bourbon Barron J M Atherton".
  6. Carl Howell, Don Waters (1998). Hardin and LaRue Counties: 1880-1930. ISBN 9780738542829.
  7. "Louisville distiller J. M. Atherton built a distillery on the Rollin Fork River on the eastern edge of the county, and later ran a rail spur to the settlement, naturally named Athertonville".
  8. "J M Atherton - Founder of Athertonville".
  9. Carl Howell; Don Waters (1998). Hardin and LaRue Counties: 1880-1930. ISBN 9780738542829.
  10. "List of 16 whiskeys marketed by J M Atherton".
  11. Hibbs, Dixie & Settles, Doris (2016). Prohibition in Bardstown: Bourbon, Bootlegging & Saloons. ISBN 9781439656235.
  12. Talbott, Tim. "Whiskey Row article in Kentucky History".
  13. Wallis, Frederick A; Tapp, Hambleton. "A sequis-centennial history of Kentucky; a narrative historical edition ... preserving the record of the growth and development of the commonwealth, and chronicling the genealogical and memorial records of its prominent families and personages".
  14. John E. Kleber (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville - reference time size of production capacity at J. M. Atherton and Co. p. 52. ISBN 0813121000.
  15. "The Filsom Historical Society: Atherton Family Papers, 1901-1939".
  16. "Alleged Whisky Ring Corruption Fund Examined by U.S. Senator William Windom's Committee. Atherton denied any improper influences and declined to give names. outcome unknown. Reported in the New York Times: June 2 1882".
  17. Karl Raitz (5 November 2019). Bourbon's Backroads: A Journey through Kentucky's Distilling Landscape. ISBN 9780813178455.
  18. A Congressional committee convened on July 27, 1888 to question John M. Atherton, Thomas H. Sherley and Joseph B. Greenhut, all members of the Distillers and Cattle Feeders' Trust, more commonly known as the Whisky Trust. Their questions encompassed all aspects of the distilling industry and the Whiskey Trust. OCLC 61330750.
  19. "Pre-Prohibition Bourbon Baron: John M Atherton".
  20. Carl Howell; Don Waters (1998). Hardin and LaRue Counties: 1880-1930 (reference to the capacity in 1890). ISBN 9780738542829.
  21. Downard, William L.; Downard, Sue (1980). Dictionary of the History of the American Brewing and Distilling Industries. ISBN 9780313213304.
  22. The New York Times: May 12, 1899 Edition. "Big Sale of a Kentucky Whisky. The Trust Buys Out J. M. Atherton & Co.'s Stock".
  23. The Courier Journal Louisville: Apr 2, 1902 Edition. "Julius Kessler and Co and Whiskey Business 1902".
  24. The Courier-Journal of Louisville: Oct 23, 1909 Edition. "Julius Kessler to retire from Whiskey Business - Napoleon of the Whiskey World".
  25. Charles Kendrick Cowdery (2015). "The Bourbon Country Reader" - Vol 17 No 2, December, 2015 "Tales of Whiskey-Making Along Old Knob Creek, the distilleries of Athertonville, Kentucky, particularly Cummins-Collins"" (PDF).
  26. Hibbs, Dixie (2002). The Cummings Distilling Corporation operators commence at Athertonville; August 1935. ISBN 9780738523910.
  27. Kruczek, Lisa & Rizzo, Laurie (2018). "Seagram Museum collection of photographs and audiovisual material" (PDF).
  28. "Kentucky Standard article on fire at Athertonville on February 24, 1972".
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