in
Simsbury, Connecticut Heublein began as a restaurant founded in 1862 in
Hartford, Connecticut, by Andrew Heublein, a
German American entrepreneur. His two sons, Gilbert F. and Louis, soon joined the business. In 1875 they accepted a large order for pre-mixed
martini and
Manhattan cocktails for the annual picnic of the
Governor's Foot Guard. Rain forced the event's cancellation. When a restaurant employee whom the brothers had instructed to dispose of the canceled cocktails several days later determined them to have withstood shelf storage safely, they began selling the pre-mixed cocktails from the restaurant. So popular were the ready-made cocktails that Heublein built a distillery just to satisfy the demand. When the focus of Andrew Heublein's business turned more heavily toward its lucrative line of ready-made cocktails in 1890, he transferred the business to his sons, and it became Gilbert F. Heublein and Bro. In 1892 they introduced their brand of “Club Cocktails” pre-mixed cocktails, an early form of
ready to drink (RTD) cocktails. In 1906, the business acquired 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 began selling it in the US under the name "Brand's A.1. Sauce". It was a 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 it incorporated in the State of Connecticut on December 2, 1915, Heublein already had offices in
New York as well as Hartford. Upon the enactment of
Prohibition in 1920, Heublein's "secondary sideline" of A.1. Sauce served as a fortunate savior, when the production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the US for the next thirteen years. Heublein also acquired distribution rights in the United States to many other international spirits, wines, and beers that include
Irish Mist liqueur,
Harvey's Bristol Cream, Don Q Rum,
Jose Cuervo,
Black & White,
Bell's whisky, Lancer's wines,
Guinness Stout, and
Bass Ale. Heublein's line of pre-mixed alcoholic cocktails comprised such traditional drinks as Manhattans, martinis, stingers, sidecars, and daiquiris, as well as such trendy drinks as the
Brass Monkey, Pink Squirrel, Hobo's Wife, in addition to such
Tiki drinks as the
Mai Tai,
Dr. Funk, and
Navy Grog. In 1969, Heublein began selling some of these cocktails in eight-ounce cans. In the 1970s, Heublein introduced "Malcolm Hereford's Cow", a new line of flavored milk, 30-proof beverage (15% alcohol) that was popular primarily with women in particular, and college students of either gender. It became a fad briefly before vanishing into obscurity. Heublein purchased
Hamm's Brewery in 1965, selling it in 1973 to a group of Hamm's wholesalers, from whom
Olympia Brewing Company bought it in 1975. It also made many acquisitions outside of the liquor market, including
Grey Poupon in 1936,
Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1971, and Hart's Bakeries in 1972. In 1969, Heublein purchased a majority stake in
United Vintners, which owned
Inglenook, for $100 million. That same year, Heublein also purchased
Beaulieu Vineyards for $8.5 million. These acquisitions gave Heublein one of the largest winemaking operations in the United States. ==Acquisition and sell-off==