Samuel Bronfman sampling a bottle of his reserve liquor from 1937.
Photo Credit : Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives
Memo sent out to all of Seagrams Limited on the day of Samuel Bronfman’s death on July 13th 1971.
Photo Credit : Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives
Sam Bronfman.
Photo Credit : Jewish Public Library - Archives
Cover of Seagram 1958 annual report with image of House of Seagram building on Peel Street.
Photo Credit : Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives
Picture of the Seagram factory in Lasalle from the Seagram 1957 annual report.
Photo Credit : Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives
Saidye Bronfman, Samuel Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman Sr., and David Ben Gurion, Montreal, ca. 1961.
Photo Credit : Jewish Public Library - Archives
Seagram’s
Seagram Company Ltd. is a distillery and alcoholic beverage company — once the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world.
Joseph E. Seagram, the company’s namesake, opened his distillery in Montreal in 1857. In 1928, Seagram’s was bought out by the Distillers Corporation, a company that had been founded by Samuel Bronfman and his brothers in 1924. The Bronfmans (whose name means Liquor man in Yiddish) were new to the liquor business; their initial fortune, in Russia, had come from farming tobacco – a venture that proved unsustainable in Canada’s harsh climate.
With patriarch Sam Bronfman at the helm, and Prohibition going into effect across North America, Seagram’s quickly grew into a liquor giant. The Bronfmans were able to take advantage of Canada’s imprecise laws to maximize their bootlegging profits. For instance, alcohol intended for medical purposes was still legal during this period, so Seagram’s began selling straight liquor through drugstores. They also opened markets in the US, where prohibition laws were stricter, by selling mail-order liquor distributions. In 1933, when Prohibition ended, Seagram’s was perfectly positioned to begin selling to the newly opened American market, because they had the largest private stock of aged whisky in the world. Seagram’s also cleverly marketed their product in bottles instead of barrels, replacing the dubious view of whisky-drinking that had developed during Prohibition with a respectable, sophisticated image. Selling whiskey in bottles soon became an industry standard.
By 1965, total sales exceeded $1 billion. The three most popular Seagram’s products were VO, Crown Royal and Seven Crown, which inspired the name of the enormously popular 70s drink, ͞7 and 7. Later, in the 80s, a memorable television commercial featuring rising star Bruce Willis contributed to the company rising from fifth to first place among distillers in just two years.
Sam Bronfman, the Whisky king of America, was also a noted philanthropist and leader in the Jewish community, inspiring others to support causes ranging from Israel to the Jewish General Hospital. He was President of the Canadian Jewish Congress during its most critical years – 1939 to 1961 – as the organization was becoming the official voice of Canadian Jewry. At the outbreak of World War II, Bronfman, along with Congress Executive Director Saul Hayes, created the CJC Committee for Refugees. The group challenged Canadian immigration laws, which were some of the most restrictive in the world, in order to save Jews trapped in Europe. While they had little success during the war, in 1947, the committee persuaded the government to allow the settlement of 1,200 war orphans from Nazi Germany. Bronfman personally employed many Jewish refugees at his LaSalle distillery.
Seagram’s has been led by many different members of the Bronfman family, including Charles Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman and Edgar Bronfman Jr. Over the years, Seagram’s began to diversify and enter into new industries, including oil and coal and entertainment, buying into Universal Pictures, MGM studios (which Edgar Bronfman became Chair of in 1969), Time Warner and Tropicana. In 2000, Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold Seagram’s.
Today, Seagram’s remains a major international liquor company, carrying brands including Captain Morgan and Absolut Vodka.
