Distillers Industry Competitors

Let the good times (and the barrels) roll. Shortly after Prohibition's end, Abram Bowman decided to boost profits from his corn field by making bourbon (whiskey made from corn). Thus was born the A. Smith Bowman Distillery, which today produces a variety of small-batch spirits -- vodka, scotch, tequila, rum, gin, and whiskey -- under its namesake Bowman's brand and the Virginia Gentleman brand....

Belvédère delivers velvety vodka. The company was founded after the fall of the Berlin Wall to promote the virtues of premium vodka made in Eastern European countries. Belvédère no longer makes its original namesake brand, which it named in honor of the presidential palace in Warsaw; it sold the rights to the Belvédère brand in 2001....

Scottish distiller Burn Stewart's products are meant to be smooth on the palette, not to burn. Though the company is relatively young, after less than 20 years it is responsible for a popular array of distilled Scotches and liquors, specializing in single malt Scotch, which it produces through its Deanston, Tobermory, and Bunnahabhain distilleries....

You shouldn't drive 55 -- or any other speed for that matter -- after partaking the fruit of this company's efforts. Cabo Wabo Enterprises is a holding company formed by rock star Sammy Hagar to oversee the marketing and distribution for his 110-proof Cabo Wabo tequila, as well as the operations of his Cabo Wabo Cantina....

A subsidiary of Diageo plc, one of he world's largest producers of alcoholic drinks, Diageo North America makes up the largest portion (almost 40%) of its parent company's total sales. North America is also Diageo's largest market by volume....

Diageo's company parties must be the talk of the town. Formed by the 1997 merger of alcoholic beverage giant Guinness with food and spirits company Grand Metropolitan, Diageo is the world's largest producer and distributor of alcoholic drinks. Its beers and distilled spirits include Guinness Stout, Harp Lager, Johnnie Walker Scotch, José Cuervo tequila, Tanqueray gin, and Smirnoff vodka....

Germain-Robin Alambic produces hand-distilled brandies and bourbons under the Anno Domini, Select Barrel XO, Shareholders Reserve, and Grappa labels. Germain-Robin products, said to rival the great French brandies (called cognac), are distilled from premium wine grapes such as Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Viognier (grappa is made from apples)....

Hood River Distillers (HRD) was founded in the 1930s as a local manufacturer of fruit wine and brandy. Today, the company does business in more than 40 states, its core area being the northwestern part of the US. It makes such spirits as whisky, rum, gin, vodka, schnapps, Irish cream whiskey, scotch....

McCormick Distilling is best known for its imported Tequila Rose, a strawberry-flavored liqueur that is mixed with tequila. The company also makes and imports a variety of distilled spirits, including gin, vodka, and whiskey. It also makes many ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, like Sgt....

Morrison Bowmore Distillers takes its time. The company produces Auchentoshan, Bowmore, and Glen Garloch whiskeys, all aged to perfection. The company's other brand, McClelland's, is scotch whiskey, or as the company calls it "uisge beatha" -- "water of life." Founded in 1951, Morrison Bowmore's products are distributed in retail and wholesale outlets in countries throughout the world....

Paramount Distillers makes and distributes a wide variety of spirits, including brandy, cognac, tequila, gin, rum, schnapps, vodka, and whisky. The company also owns the Meier's Wine Cellars, which operates a 40-acre vineyard on North Bass Island on Lake Erie (the vineyard was larger before the company sold much of the land in 2004 to the state of Ohio)....

The many alcoholic beverages of Pernod Ricard find their way to the US consumer through Pernod Ricard USA, which operates divisional sales offices throughout the US. The company sells Chivas Regal whiskey, The Glenlivet scotch, and Wild Turkey bourbon among its "brown spirits." Other brands include Beefeater gin, Jacob's Creek wines, Kahlua coffee liqueur, Malibu rum, Seagram's Gin, Stolichnaya and Absolut vodkas, and champagnes Mumm and Perrier Jouët....

Rémy Cointreau has been ready with a toast for a rather long time. Its biggest product is cognac, which it has made under the Rémy Martin name since 1724. Its Maxxium Worldwide distribution joint venture with The Edrington Group of Scotland, the US's Fortune Brands, and Sweden's V&S Group provides for wide-spread markets for its cognac, wines, rums, liqueurs, and champagnes....

Martin Miller's Gin is distilled by obsessive gin makers at The Reformed Spirits Company for obsessive gin connoisseurs around the world. The premium gin, which has won many awards for its quality and taste, is distilled in a century-old copper still outside of London, then shipped to Iceland where it's blended with spring water....

Tortuga Rum makes the only sports drink approved by pirates of the Caribbean. Despite its name, the company does not focus on liquid rum, but rather on rum cakes, including chocolate, coconut, coffee, and banana varieties. The company's other delectable include rum fudge, rum truffles, gourmet coffees, jellies, and sauces....

Whyte and Mackay may sound as if it could help you in the courtroom, but is more likely to be of service afterward. The company produces Scotch and other spirits from single malt distilleries in Dalmore, the Isle of Jura, Fettercairn, and Tamnavulin. It also operates a grain distillery at Invergordon....

Angostura Holdings doesn't mind taking the bitter along with the sweet. In addition to producing cognac, rum, gin, and vodka, the company is best known for its line of bitters, a liquid ingredient used in many cocktail recipes. The company also produces Bloody Mary seasoning and a line of soy, Teriyaki, and Worcestershire sauces....

You want proof? The folks at Bacardi Global Brands will pour it for you -- from a bottle. One of the world's leading wine and spirits groups, Bacardi produces a dozen varieties of its namesake rum, selling more than 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries worldwide....

At Beam Global Spirits & Wine (formerly Jim Beam Brands Worldwide), the spotlight is on bourbon. Jim Beam is the #1 selling bourbon in the world, hanging out on liquor store shelves with drinking buddies such as Old Crow and Old Grand Dad and small batch bourbons such as Knob Creek....

If you have an extreme devotion to black vodka, look to Blavod Extreme Spirits. The company, which was formed by the 2003 merger of Blavod Black Vodka and Extreme Beverage, produces and sells its black-colored vodka primarily in the UK, but also does business in more than 40 other countries....