Berry Bros. & Rudd

In towns and cities all over the US, a flourishing trade in illegal liquor kept the authorities on their toes.

While in London, royal wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd were hatching a plan to crack the underground US whiskey market with the help of the Cutty Sark.

Berry Brothers & Rudd has a special relationship with the Cutty Sark.

Can you tell me a bit more about that and, and how it came about?

So we go back to 1923.

So you said that you've been global head of wine and spirits at Sotheby's for three years.

I think before that, was it 20-odd years at Berry Bros?

Yeah, 23.

23 to be exact.

So going from Berry Bros, were you working in the fine wine world of Berry Bros before? Right.

I was.

I was.

So, Alistair, what's been in your glass and what's been up your arse? What's been annoying you recently when you've been drinking? So, I've actually

got a wee Berry Brothers number single cask bottling here.

Nice.

Lovely.

And by the way, even recycled glass.

If you go to the Berry Brothers sellers, there's loads of recycled glass in there.

They've got a display of all these old bottles that people use.

Most of it is recycled glass because you wouldn't have thrown that stuff away.

And they're more of a pure broker.

So Justerini & Brooks, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Corny & Barrow, they have large customer bases of people that they buy wines for and sell to.

Five Vintners do as well, but they're more of a broker and they're arranging, buying and selling wines, but they do have a large physical position in wines.

All of these merchants, you would be able to buy wines from them, store them in their appropriate storage facilities, and that's how the markets worked for hundreds of years.