George Gerdes and his brother Ben for years had wanted to own outright a Kentucky distillery to provide a steady flow of whiskey for their Cincinnati wholesale liquor house. Over almost three decades they had invested in distilleries but sought total ownership. Only about 1903 were the brothers able to buy outright the Old Lexington Club distillery in Jessamine County, a plant with its own considerable history. Unexpectedly, the purchase would embroil the Gerdes in a lengthy, expensive, and eventually losing legal battle with the Whiskey Trust.
The Gerdes brothers first appeared in Cincinnati directories in 1874 as G. & B. Gerdes Wines, located at Eight West Second St., apparently also their living quarters. George, 29, was president; Bernard, 35, was secretary-treasurer. This was the first of what would be four Cincinnati addresses.
The Gerdes soon moved from wine to becoming wholesale liquor dealers. Like many in that trade, they were “rectifying,” that is, blending whiskeys from Kentucky distillers to create their own proprietary brands of liquor. Among those were:"Elkhorn Club", "Fort Deer Rye,” "G. & G. B. Manhattan,” "King of Nelson,” “Melrose,” “Mignonette,” "Mountain Lily,” "Old Gold Rye, "Queen of Anderson,” "Rising Sun,” “Sunshine,” and "Tube Rose.” The brothers do not appear to have trademarked any of those names.
During the first two plus decades of the Gerdes company the brothers had financial interests in at least three Kentucky distilleries. They ere drawing liquor from RD#112, 8th District, in Anderson County, owned by Thomas B. Ripy of the famous distilling family; RD#2, Fifth District, in Louisville, owned by the Mattingly brothers, and RD#405, Fifth District, in Gethsemane, owned by Francis M. Head and M.C. Beam. As shown here, the brothers issued their whiskey in ceramic jugs of up to four gallons.
In the meantime, a distillery had been built on Hickman Creek just outside Nicholasville, below, a town of about 2,000 in Jessamine County not far from Louisville. Designated RD#86, 8th District, the owner was J. H. Reed, a man with a series of partners. Reed called it The Old Lexington Club Distillery and about 1874 began using the name “Old Lexington Club Whiskey.” Principally advertising the brand locally, Reed proved to be a bad at business and became mired in debt. Taken over by creditors, the distillery was sold to the Amann Brothers, whiskey rectifiers from Cincinnati. [See post on the Amanns, May 6, 2017].
Insurance underwriter records in 1892, indicate that the distillery, shown here, was built of stone with a metal or slate roof. The property included a frame cattle shed 75 ft SW of the still, and a corn crib. There were three bonded warehouses: Warehouse A -- iron-clad with a shingle roof, located 125 feet NW of the still. Warehouse B -- frame with a shingle roof, 180 feet NW of the still. Warehouse C -- frame with a shingle roof, 250 feet NW of the still. The Amanns’ reportedly paid $10,000 for the distllery, a relative bargain price related to the site being located on low ground and prone to periodic flooding.
Before the Amann’s bought the facility it had the mashing capacity of 200 bushels a day and able to store about 7,700 barrels for aging. The brothers promptly increased the mashing to 300 bushel per day and over time increased warehouse capacity to 13,500 barrels. Most of this production was shipped to the Amanns for rectifying and bottling; the rest was sold to other wholesalers and rectifiers.
In October 1887, Daniel Amann died at age 65. his brother Edmund succeeded to top management and carried on the business. In 1903, for unknown reasons he sold the Old Lexington Club Distillery. G & B Gerdes were the eager purchasers, delighted at last to have a distillery of their own. The arrival of the Whiskey Trust on the Kentucky whiskey scene had jacked up the prices asked of rectifiers for raw product. Owning their own distillery, they understood would free them from monopolistic prices. The Gerdes ad below exudes optimism.
A key decision by the brothers was to make “Old Lexington Club” their flagship brand, a name that neither Reed or the Amanns had bothered to trademark. Meanwhile back in Cincinnati another whiskey wholesaler, Freiberg & Workham, in 1878 began using the name “Lexington Club” for its own whiskey. In his book, Bourbon Law, Atty. Brian Haara relates from court documents that this brand proved very popular and had been sold all over America while “Old Lexington Club” was marketed largely in central Kentucky with some sales in New York, Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati.
In 1899, Freiberg & Workam sold out to the Kentucky Distilleries and Warehouse Company, better known as the Whiskey Trust. Trust executives recognized the strong customer base for “Lexington Club” and continued to sell it vigorously. Meanwhile the Gerdes Brothers, who heretofore had not trademarked any of their labels, decided in 1905 to register “Old Lexington Club.” Catching wind of this move, the Whiskey Trust, always well lawyered, objected and the registration was denied by the Patent and Trademark Office. Early in 1906 the Gerdes Bros. sued the Trust.
The litigation would stretch on for almost a decade. The Gerdes brothers won the initial court battle. The Trust appealed but lost again. The third time proved the charm for the monopolists as they won on their second appeal. Atty. Haara: The court ruled that “Old Lexington Club” was a descriptive name not entitled to trademark protection and that “Old Lexington Club” hadn’t done anything about “Lexington Club” despite knowing about it for at least 15 years. This decision ignored the fact that the Gerdes had owned the distillery only since 1903. Inaction earlier by Reed and the Amanns seemingly had doomed the brothers’ trademark efforts.
The case dragged on for years with the final judgment coming only in October 1916. In a Federal District Court of New Jersey the judge made a decision even King Solomon might have endorsed. He overruled the earlier court decision to decree that “Old Lexington Club” was a distinctive enough name that the Gerdes could register it as a trademark. On the other hand he let stand the earlier ruling that the Trust could continue to use “Lexington Club,” regardless of the confusion it might cause. He contended that Freiberg & Workman and then the Trust had built the label to a larger customer base than the Gerdes. After all their efforts it would be unfair, he ruled, to let the name recognition and business reputation of the whiskey go to “Old Lexington Club.” In other words, let both flowers bloom. The Gerdes did not appeal.
In 1909 Bernard died at age 70, never to see the final decision on the trademark conflict. His place was taken by his son Edwin, 30, who had been working for G. and B. Gerdes since maturity, including acting as the company bookkeeper. With the death of George in 1918, Edwin became the president of the Nicholasville distillery and the Cincinnati wholesale liquor house. The history of the “Old Lexington Club” makes it difficult to establish a timeline for some of the artifacts identified with the brand, including back of the bar bottles and shot glasses. The assumption is that they were issued during the years of Gerdes ownership, but both Reed and the Amanns had used the name earlier.
Below are two pint flasks of “Old Lexington Club” bearing slightly different labels. Examination of the a back panel indicates that while the whiskey inside had been made before the imposition of National Prohibition, the bottles are certified as having been produced prior to January 17, 1920 by Edwin Gerdes at the Nicholasville distillery. Bottling, however, had occurred at a federally secured distillery near Columbia, Adair County, Kentucky, and was being sold “For Medicinal Purposes Only.” This designation marked the final days of “Old Lexington Club” whiskey and the Gerdes family enterprise.
Meanwhile Ben and George lie together in Cincinnati’s Calvary Catholic Cemetery,under the watchful eye of an angel statue who carries a wreath in its hand. I am particularly fascinated by the broken pillar at right entwined in ivy and the name “Gerdes” superimposed. The grieving angel casts a particular dignity upon the men buried below, brothers who took on the Whiskey Trust — but lost.
Note: This post was drawn from a range of sources. My particular thanks go to Brian Haara for allowing me to quote from his Internet post of February 25, 2019 and providing me with the actual text of the 1908 and 1916 court decision. For those interested in the often fascinating legal tangles of pre-Prohibition liquor, I highly recommend Atty. Haara’s book: “Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America,” 2018, University of Nebraska Press.
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