The Hoffman Distillery was built on the banks of the Salt River in 1880 by S.O. Hackley. Soon after the distillery was built, he teamed up with Ike Hoffman and from there grew two well-known brands at the time; Old Hoffman and Old Spring. By 1912, Hoffman was the sole owner and went bankrupt. In 1916 the distillery was brought by L.&E. Werthheimer. The distillery was closed and torn down during prohibition. After repeal, the distillery was re-built and the new owners hired Robert and Ezra Ripy to run the distillery. Robert and Ezra were two of the sons of Thomas Ripy who was one of the most famous distillers in the late 1800’s. Thomas’s other two sons founded the Ripy distillery that would eventually become Wild Turkey as we know it today.
During the subsequent years at the Hoffman Distillery, Robert and Ezra, along with the Wertheimers and Frank Silverman created a new brand of bourbon; Ezra Brooks. Rumor has it that the team liked the Ezra portion of the name but didn’t want the Ripy name on the label so they created Ezra Brooks. By this time, the distillery was producing Ezra Brooks, Old Hoffman, and Old Spring at the rate of 300 bushels per day. With the rise of the Ezra Brooks brand, the distillery was renamed in 1968 to the Ezra Brooks Distillery.
Along the journey and rise of Ezra Brooks as a popular brand of bourbon, there was a large bump in the road. That bump was named Jack Daniels. In 1960, Jack Daniels brings a lawsuit against Hoffman Distilling Company for trademark infringement for the packaging and advertising methods that, in their terms, mimicked Jack Daniels Black label. Ultimately, the court decided that there was no evidence of trademark infringement by Hoffman and that both brands have such a clearly defined and different labeling that there is no likelihood of confusion by the consumer and therefore the consumer could not be deceived. Considering the size and stature of the two companies, this had to be considered one of the great underdog legal wins in the history of whiskey and sprits lawsuits.
Like much of the entirety of the bourbon industry, the 70’s and 80’s presented hard times for most. It was during this time frame that the Ezra Brooks distillery was purchased by Medley, who was then acquired by Glenmore. The Ezra Brooks brand was eventually sold around and ended up with Luxco, although it has never regained the type of recognition and popularity as it had in the mid 1900’s.
In 1979, the Hoffman Distillery was shut down and with the shutdown was the end of the Hoffman Bourbon brand. The distillery sat for four years until a gentleman by the name of Julian Van Winkle III purchased the distillery and transformed it into a bottling facility for his Old Rip Van Winkle product. In 1981, the Van Winkle family cut ties with Stitzel-Weller and needed a place to bottle their aging whiskey. From 1983 until 2002 the Van Winkle’s bottled their famous product out of this old Hoffman Distillery. In 2002, the Van Winkle’s went into a partnership with Buffalo Trace and the Hoffman Distillery was left abandoned.
