Justerini & Brooks
 | |
| Industry | Manufacturing and distillation of liquors and wine |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Products | Distilled and blended liquors, wine |
| Website | justerinis |
Justerini & Brooks is a fine wine and spirits merchant founded in St. James's in 1749, originally to provide wine and spirits to the aristocratic households of London. The firm has been a supplier to every British monarch since the coronation of King George III in 1761.[1] It sells to private collectors, hotels, and restaurants across the United Kingdom. Justerini & Brooks is owned by multinational Diageo.[2]
History[edit]
Justerini and Brooks was founded in 1749 by Giacomo Justerini from Bologna, the son of a distiller, and English investor George Johnson. Together, they founded the wine merchants Johnson & Justerini. In 1760, Justerini returned to his native land after selling the business to Johnson. Johnson continued to grow the business, naming his grandson, Augustus, as a partner, and building relationships with European suppliers from Bordeaux, Cadiz, Mayence, Reims, Genoa, Dijon and Palermo.[3] The firm received its first Royal Warrant from King George III the next year.[4]
In 1831, the Johnson family sold its interest in the business to Alfred Brooks. The firm was renamed Justerini & Brooks and its headquarters were established in Regent's Park.[5] The New York office opened in 1866.[3]
Today, the company has four offices: the head office in St James's Street, a further office in London's Golden Square, and sales offices in Edinburgh and Hong Kong. Justerini & Brooks is also the main user of the Octavian Vaults, a giant, thirty-acre high-security cellar in Wiltshire. The company operates three other storage warehouses in Bordeaux, Hong Kong, and in Hertfordshire.[6]
Wine and spirits[edit]
Justerini & Brooks are known for their selection of fine wines from Burgundy, Barolo and Germany.[7] They are also known for their J&B Rare whisky, a blend of forty-two malt and grain whiskies, including single malts Knockando, Auchroisk and Glen Spey.[8]
In popular culture[edit]
Throughout the 1970s, J&B whisky bottles cropped up with remarkable regularity in Italian poliziotteschi, commedia sexy all'italiana and particularly giallo films as a signifier of sophistication and virility, probably influenced by the brand's popularity among the Italian American celebrities Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.[9]
In the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, the main character Patrick Bateman is a habitual drinker of J&B.[10]
In the 1982 John Carpenter remake of "The Thing", helicopter pilot R.J. MacCready, played by Kurt Russell, is shown throughout the movie drinking J&B.
References[edit]
- ^ "Justerini & Brooks Ltd | Royal Warrant Holders Association". www.royalwarrant.org. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Brand explorer". Diageo. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Our History". www.justerinis.com. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ^ "Justerini and Brooks Whisky". Master of Malt. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ "Justerini & Brooks - Our Royal Warrants". Justerinis.com. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ Sims, Josh (4 March 2020). "Inside Justerini & Brooks' multi-million pound wine cellar". Luxury London. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Andrew Ellson, Roll out the riesling, German wines are making a comeback, in: The Times dated 9 December 2019
- ^ Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff (April 2011). Great Whiskies. Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 9781405360180.
- ^ Mikel J. Koven, La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006, pages 49-50.
- ^ Easton Ellis, Bret (1991). American Psycho (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Contemporaries. p. 09/96. ISBN 0-679-73577-1.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- J&B on uk.thebar.com
- J&B on Whisky.com
- J&B In The Movies database
