Isaac Wolfe Bernheim

“The Philanthropist”

Isaac Wolfe Bernheim was born November 4, 1848, in a small southwest German town named Schmieheim.  His father Leon Solomon Bernheim passed away when Isaac was just seven years of age. His mother, Fanny Dreyfuss would remarry two years later to Louis Weil.  Isaac was the oldest of three living children and one yet unborn sibling, who died in infancy.  The now Bernheim/Weil family moved to Freiburg during his early teens when the laws regarding civil rights for Jews were liberalized.  Shortly after the move, his younger sister Elise died leaving one brother Bernard.

After moving to Freiburg, Isaac would work as an apprentice learning bookkeeping and money handling – until a few years later accepting a clerk position in Frankfurt Germany.  In the Summer of 1866, after becoming himself somewhat independent the country would go to war with Austria.  At age 18, Isaac met his uncle Mangold Livingston visiting from the U.S. who impressed that success could be achieved in the United States with hard work, health and good fortune. His uncle promised young Isaac work at his yarn factory should he make the move to New York.

In April of 1867, despite his mother’s strong reservations, Isaac immigrated to New York City with just four dollars in his pocket – only to find his uncle's business had filed for bankruptcy.  The Civil War was having an impact on spending for many.  Now in the United States with no job – he was grateful to have received some financial assistance from his uncle and moved to Pennsylvania where he peddled Yankee notions: scissors, thread, needles, handkerchiefs, etc. to families living in rural settlements.  After saving earnings for a few months, he purchased a horse and wagon on credit allowing him to expand his territory.  His travel and interactions with customers allowed him an opportunity to improve his fluency and understanding of American customs.

Later that winter, Isaac’s horse died, and he again joined his Uncle Mangold who had since moved to Paducah Kentucky joining another uncle (Benjamin Weille) in business. Isaac, not strong in sales - worked as a bookkeeper for the wholesale liquor business of Loeb and Bloom.  After again building a savings and young Isaac beginning to get his feet underneath him – Isaac sought advancement.  In 1870, Isaac tapped into his savings and assisted with moving his brother Bernard to the United States where he would replace Isaac as bookkeeper - with Isaac getting a promotion into sales for Loeb and Bloom.

Things were moving fast for the two brothers – so much, two years later in 1872 they opened their own liquor company “Bernheim Brothers Distillery” after a dispute with the owners at Loeb & Bloom over becoming partners with interest in the business.  The brothers are believed to have contributed their life savings of $1,200 to help fund the $3,200 start-up.  Isaac would also marry in 1874 to Amanda Uri Bernheim before the two brothers would begin production of their first corn-based Kentucky whiskey in 1879, named I.W Harper.  Like other Jewish distillers during that time, Isaac had doubts with the marketability of his family name on the label.  He opted to use his first initials I.W.  However, the surname likely came from a famous horse trainer he had read about named John Harper.

In 1888, with the brand growing in popularity, the brothers relocated their operations to Louisville, a major hub located on the Ohio River, simplifying their distribution strategy with a waterway. Marni Davis, author of the 2012 book “Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition,” has noted that at the turn of the 20th century, Jews, who made up only 3 percent of Louisville’s population, “made up 25 percent of [its] whiskey distillers, rectifiers [blenders], and wholesalers.”

In 1890, the company would acquire an interest in the Pleasure Ridge Park distillery just a few short miles outside of Louisville.  However, in 1896 the distillery would be destroyed by fire, leaving Bernheim Bros with a $1 million dollar tax bill on the bonded whiskey stored in its warehouses. The brothers would rebuild the following year and after 18 months of litigation, the government cancelled the tax assessment due.

With now $2 million dollars in capital the Bernheim Distillery Company would incorporate in 1903 and acquire both the Warwick and Mayfield distilleries in 1906.  By the start of the 20th century, Bernheim was one of America’s largest distilleries and one of 10 distilleries permitted to continue producing alcohol for medicinal purposes.

On December 9, 1922, wife Amanda Bernheim would pass at the age of 68 after a lingering illness.  Nearly one year later January 19, 1924, Isaac Bernheim would marry his late wife’s sister Emma Levy.

Bernheim, known for his philanthropic giving – was a member of the national Jewish Community in the United States.  He privately financed two Kentucky statues in the statuary hall of the U.S. Capitol, a statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Louisville Free Public Library, and the statue of Thomas Jefferson outside the Jefferson County courthouse in Kentucky.  He also returned to his boyhood home in Schmieheim Germany where he would finance Schmieheim's first plumbing system and build homes for both elderly and children. In 1928, amid prohibition – Isaac Bernheim purchased 14,000 acres of farmland in Kentucky’s Bullitt and Nelson Counties.  The land would later be named the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in 1929 – of which, Bernheim started a trust to ensure the forest upkeep.  Much work was needed to restore the overworked farmland and desolate forest prior to opening to the public in 1950.

In 1937, Isaac W. Bernheim sold the distillery to Schenley.  Leading Schenley was a man named Lewis Rosenstiel, another Jewish liquor entrepreneur who would ultimately be responsible for landmark initiatives affecting the production standards of bourbon and protecting its status as a uniquely American product.  After the sale, Bernheim would continue his philanthropic work in Louisville with his I.W. Bernheim Foundation while moving to Colorado and spending his winters in Santa Monica, CA.  It is there where he died on April 1, 1945.  Strangely, the death was ruled a suicide after Bernheim fell from his 8th floor apartment window – leaving an estate of more than $3 million dollars to his trust.  The funds would be used to fund an arboretum for raising trees and shrubs that would be given to the state of Kentucky for lining highways, a wildlife sanctuary, a museum of natural history, and an art gallery.

The I.W. Harper brand is owned by Diageo and the Bernheim brand today is owned by Heaven Hill and the Shapira family.  For centuries, many successes in the bourbon and whiskey industry have come from a family line of distillers – the Bernheim and Shapira families are an exception.  Additionally, Jewish names weren’t always prevalent on labels.  Nearly a half century after Isaac Bernheim’s death, Heaven Hill would market the Bernheim name on a bottle with its Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey in 2000.  Paying homage to the late distiller and his philanthropic generosity.  For many years, the I.W. Harper Brand was exported throughout Asia – however, the brand has seen renewed distribution inside the United States along with the Bernheim Wheat Whiskey.

Guests visiting the Bernheim Distillery today may notice the ceiling of the visitor center where wooden beams above the tasting bar are held up by iron supports shaped like the Star of David – a mark of remembrance to their Jewish heritage and faith.