Campbell Brown, the fifth-generation chairman of the board of Brown-Forman, is surveying his office in the otherwise modern Louisville headquarters of his family-controlled company, the maker of such storied Bourbon as Woodford Reserve, the official Bourbon of the 150th Kentucky Derby. This room is the opposite of modern, decorated with wood repurposed from a dining room where executives used to eat. The rug used to sit in his grandfather’s office. “And that’s my grandfather’s desk,” he says. “It’s the only office I think that kind of looks like you should be smoking a cigar.”
The nearby office of the president and CEO, Lawson Whiting, has a very different look. There’s a photo of the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, one of the many he has collected of celebrities drinking another of the company’s spirits brands, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey.
The contrast encapsulates the personality of BrownForman, a 154-year-old American institution that continues to thrive by melding the values of a family-run concern with agile business practices that have helped it adapt. Here, the steady hand of the Brown family—which Forbes magazine listed as worth more than $16 billion— guides a diverse group of nearly 6,000 employees that span the globe and keep the company evolving.
Denne historien er fra March/April 2024-utgaven av Cigar Aficionado.
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Denne historien er fra March/April 2024-utgaven av Cigar Aficionado.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith
Many connect TAG Heuer with Formula 1 racing through the renowned Monaco watch, named for the Grand Prix held in that city.
Pinball Machines
\"Two kind of people in this world,\" Ray Liotta's character says in the 1997 movie Cop Land.
My Favorite Cigar
Cigar aficionados describe their smoke of choice
A Trinidad Celebration
One of Cuba's star cigar brands commemorates 55 years with anniversary smokes
Gentlemen 1919 A CIGAR HIDEAWAY IN PARIS
In the front, there are hair cutters; in the back, cigar cutters.
A HIGH STEAKS GAME
Gallaghers restaurant, New York's oasis for carnivores, has thrived for 96 years, playing host to a colorful crowd of sports heroes, show people and classic characters
SHORT BUT SWEET
Golf courses traditionally are played on 18 holes, but a new crop of exciting shorter courses from top-name designers might just be the big new thing in golf
The Enforcer
Cole Hauser, who plays the tough-as-nails cowboy Rip on the hit show \"Yellowstone,\" has been around horses since he was a little boy
A Major Celebration - pro golfer and cigar lover Xander Schauffele was ready to unwind after winning the PGA Championship in May
Cigars are meant for celebration, so when pro golfer and cigar lover Xander Schauffele was ready to unwind after winning the PGA Championship in May, he lit up.It was a time of immense relief. Despite being a marquee name in golf, with a Gold Medal and a Ryder Cup among his wins, the 30-year-old Schauffele was haunted by another distinction: the back-handed compliment of being on the list of the best golfers never to win a major. He had come ohso-close in many majors, finishing second twice, and seven times in the top 10. But in May, when his final putt-just over six feet in length-dropped for a birdie, the wait was over. He raised both arms in celebration, a huge smile spreading across his face. He was finally a major champion.
Leader of the Lost Boys
Mike Rypka loves smoking cigars with his friends so much, he bought his neighbor's house and transformed it into a smoking lounge