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DATE OF THIS**ORIGINAL** ILLUSTRATED COVER, ADVERT, PRINT:1934
THIS ITEM IS A ONE-PAGEADVERTISEMENT OR PRINT. IT IS FROMANORIGINALPERIODICAL.THEREIS ONEPHOTO,SO PLEASELOOK OVER CAREFULLY FOR SIZE AND CONDITION! NOTE: SOME PHOTOS MAY HAVE A BLACK BOX COVERING UP THE NAME OF THE PERIODICAL - IT IS ONLY LAYING ON TOP OF THE ITEM - NOT PERMANENT. ENJOY!
SPECIALIZED INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:
The October 1934 advertisement from National Distillers, headlined \"Have you laid in your share of this genuine pre-Prohibition whiskey?\", is a legendary piece of post-Repeal marketing history. Published less than a year after the repeal of Prohibition in late 1933, this text-heavy, elite magazine ad targeted wealthy connoisseurs through publications like The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.The Marketing Problem & The PivotWhen Prohibition ended, American whiskey distilleries had been shut down or strictly limited for nearly 14 years. The market was suddenly flooded with \"young,\" unaged, or poorly blended neutral spirits because the industry had to start aging its whiskey stocks from scratch. The only high-quality, fully aged, \"good old stuff\" left in America was the dwindling stock of spirits distilled before 1920. National Distillers—under their distribution arm, the American Medicinal Spirits Company—had purchased and safely held these barrels in government-bonded warehouses throughout the \"dry\" years for legal medicinal sales. However, they faced a unique flavor problem: a lot of this remaining pre-Prohibition whiskey had been sitting in wood for 13 to 18 years, which typically over-ages bourbon, making it taste overly tannic—as collectors put it, \"like a burnt leather boot.\" National Distillers masterfully spun this flavor profile in their ad copy:
They reframed the over-oaked 18-year-old bourbon as \"mellow\".- They pitched the heavily aged 13-year-old rye as \"smooth as liquid silk.\"
The Featured \"Big Three\" BrandsThe advertisement served as an urgent call to action, warning consumers that these legendary, authentic spirits were a strictly limited luxury that \"won\'t last very long.\" It prominently showcased their gold-standard trio:
Old Grand-Dad: Their premier high-rye Kentucky bourbon. The ad capitalized on the rich heritage of the brand, which was originally created by Raymond B. Hayden to honor his trailblazing distilling grandfather, Basil Hayden. - Mount Vernon: A celebrated straight rye whiskey with deep historical roots, famously tied to the traditional Maryland-style distillation techniques originally championed at George Washington\'s estate.
- Sunnybrook: A remarkably popular, smooth-sipping Kentucky straight whiskey that became a cornerstone of National Distillers\' production footprint in Louisville.
The ad copy also noted that while these three brands made up the majority of the special warehouse cache, small remaining quantities of other legendary labels—such as Bourbon de luxe, Old McBrayer, Black Gold, Blue Grass, and Old Ripy—were also being cleared out to lucky buyers.
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The story of how the American Medicinal Spirits Company (AMS Co.) legally kept America\'s favorite whiskey brands alive during Prohibition—and how Old Grand-Dad is produced today—is a masterclass in corporate survival and modern legacy preservation. Part 1: How AMS Co. Kept the Whiskeys Alive (1920–1933)When the Volstead Act enacted National Prohibition in 1920, it banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating beverages. However, it carved out a massive loophole: alcohol for medical (medicinal) purposes was strictly legal. 1. The Legal Loophole & Concentrated WarehousesThe federal government did not destroy America\'s existing whiskey barrels. Instead, they ordered all aging stock to be moved into heavily guarded, government-supervised \"concentration warehouses\". Recognizing an immense business opportunity, the Wathen family—prominent Kentucky distillers who owned the rights to Old Grand-Dad—formed the American Medicinal Spirits Company in 1927 as a consolidated holding company under National Distillers. They aggressively bought up the warehouse stocks and trademark rights of rival shuttered distilleries. 2. The Golden Ticket: One of the \"Big Six\"Out of hundreds of pre-Prohibition distillers, the U.S. government granted only six companies official medicinal licenses to bottle and distribute this concentrated warehouse whiskey. AMS Co. was the largest of these six.3. Doctors as BartendersDuring the 1920s, a citizen could legally obtain a pint of Old Grand-Dad every 10 days by visiting a physician. Doctors utilized official government prescription pads to prescribe Spiritus Frumenti (the medical term for grain alcohol) for an absurd array of 27 approved ailments, including asthma, cancer, old age, indigestion, and snake bites. A prescription typically cost $3 to write and another $3 to fill at a pharmacy (roughly $100 total today), making AMS Co.\'s medicinal pints an incredibly lucrative luxury product that kept the brand\'s name prominently in the public consciousness. 4. Restarting the Stills (1929)By 1929, the federal government realized the pre-Prohibition \"medicinal\" stocks were on the verge of running out entirely. To replenish the supply, the government allowed AMS Co. to legally fire up select stills—such as the Old Taylor Distillery—for 100 days a year under intense federal scrutiny. Because they never stopped bottling, AMS Co. was uniquely positioned with fully mature, operational brands the exact minute Prohibition was repealed in December 1933. Part 2: How Old Grand-Dad is Produced TodayAfter generations of corporate mergers, National Distillers sold its spirits portfolio in 1987 to Fortune Brands (which later evolved into Beam Inc., and is now James B. Beam Distilling Co. under Suntory Global Spirits). Today, Old Grand-Dad is produced at the massive, state-of-the-art Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.1. The High-Rye Mash BillOld Grand-Dad is explicitly unique because it does not use the standard, sweeter Jim Beam bourbon recipe. Instead, it is crafted using Beam\'s legendary High-Rye Mash Bill:
63% Corn- 27% Rye
- 10% Malted Barley
This exceptionally high percentage of rye gives Old Grand-Dad its famous, historical trademark flavor profile: a robust, spicy, and peppery kick heavily complemented by notes of baking spices, toasted oak, and dark citrus.2. The Production LineupThe brand continues to respect the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 standards that it championed during its post-Prohibition years. It is primarily distributed in three traditional expressions:
Old Grand-Dad Standard (80 Proof): A smooth, approachable entry-level expression.- Old Grand-Dad Bonded (100 Proof): Conforming strictly to historical law—the product of a single distillation season, by a single distiller, aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse.
- Old Grand-Dad 114 (114 Proof): A cult-favorite, high-strength expression bottled at barrel-strength intensity to showcase the unfiltered, spicy punch of the high-rye recipe.
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