Gilbert F. Heublein

Birth Name:
Gilbert F. Heublein
Birth Date:
December 28, 1849
Birth Place:
Suhl, Bavaria, Germany
Death Date:
March 21, 1937
Place of Death:
739 Prospect Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut
Age:
87
Cause of Death:
Arteriosclerosis
Cemetery Name:
Cedar Hill Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Business and Finance
German-born Gilbert F. Heublein was a prominent hotelier, restaurateur, food and liquor distributor in Hartford, Connecticut. While most people remember Gilbert for securing the license and distribution rights of A-1 Steak Sauce to the United States, his real claim to fame should be his discovery and marketing of pre-made cocktails. As the legend goes, Gilbert and his brother Louis had prepared a quantity of premixed cocktails for a large annual picnic. It rained and the event was canceled. A few days later a employee of the Heubleins was told to dispose of the unused beverages. Deciding to taste them first, he found that the drinks had suffered no deterioration and announced the discovery to his bosses. The Heubleins took note and began selling the premixed libations in their saloon and restaurant. The cocktails proved very popular with customers and increasingly became the focus of the family’s attention. With Gilbert now running the business, the new firm concentrated on the premixed cocktails such as Martinis and Manhattans, advertising them widely as Club Cocktails. Upon the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, Heublein's "secondary sideline" of A.1. Sauce served as a fortunate savior, when the production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the US for the next thirteen years. Upon Gilbert’s death, the company was taken over by John G. Martin, the son of Alice Heublein and Percy Martin, Gilbert Heublein’s grandson. Through Martin’s business savvy, G.F. Heublein & Bro. acquired the rights to sell Smirnoff vodka, Don Q rum, and Jose Cuervo tequila. In 1969, Heublein, Inc. began to package pre-mixed cocktails in 8-ounce cans, such as the ‘Brass Monkey’. The company also made acquisitions outside the liquor industry with the purchase of Grey Poupon mustard in 1936 and Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1971. In 1982, Heublein, Inc was sold to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for 1.4 billion dollars.

Fun Facts

In 1875 the Heublein Family created the first premixed cocktails, advertising them widely as Club Cocktails. While nearly every biography in print today states that the ready-made cocktails were so popular that Heublein built a distillery just to satisfy the demand. There is no evidence that the Heublein’s ever owned or built a distillery. What they did do was operate a “rectifying” operation –  compounding and blending spirits to achieve the cocktails. The Heubleins also were issuing their own whiskey, a primary house brand being Federal Club. They labeled it prominently as a “blend.” As its liquor business thrived, G. F. Heublein & Bro. opened a sales office in New York City and in 1915 incorporated the company.

It has also been said that Gilbert drove the company into financial difficulties during Prohibition and bought Smirnoff vodka only to have his grandson step in and save the company. This is false. John Martin was named president of Heublein Inc. after Gilbert passed away. Two years later John purchased Smirnoff vodka and grew the spirit part of the business over the course of 50 years with spectacular success.

In 1875, Heublein proposed to Louise M. Gundlach who was the daughter of a prominent Hartford German American businessman. During a hiking excursion on Talcott Mountain, Heublein promised his soon-to-be bride that he would one day build her a German-style mansion atop the mountain. As promised, in 1914 Heublein built a six-story, German-style mansion atop Talcott Mountain. Known now as Heublein Tower, the home served as a summer retreat and entertainment venue for weekend guests. The Tower was state-of-the-art, built to withstand winds gusts of more than 100 miles per hour. It included a five passenger elevator considered to be the first home elevator in Connecticut. Today it is a popular tourist destination.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cedar Hill Cemetery

453 Fairfield Avenue

Hartford, Connecticut, 06114

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut
Map of Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut

Grave Location:

Section 12, Lot 32

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery stay to the hard left past the mausoleums until you get to the intersection of Sections 12 and 30. Walk towards the large Heublein Angel towards the center of the Section 12 where you will find the graves of the Heublein Family.

Grave Location GPS

41.7200133,-72.7011662

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Gilbert F. Heublein:

Videos Featuring Gilbert F. Heublein:
Vintage Old 1960's Heublein Byrrh Wine Commercial
Wine & Spirits ~ Heublein Promotional Video
The Scandalous History of the Manhattan Cocktail
Talcott Mountain and Heublein Tower Full Hike
Lost Hartford CT: Before Bushnell Plaza (Loew's-Poli, Mulberry Street, Heublein Hotel & more!)

See More:

John D. Rockefeller Sr.

popular name: John D. Rockefeller Sr.

date_of_death: May 23, 1937

age: 97

cause_of_death: Arteriosclerosis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: There’s rich, there’s wealthy, and then there’s John D. Rockefeller. Considered by many to be the most financially-prosperous individual in modern history with an estimated $900,000,000 bank balance (unadjusted for inflation) in the early 1910s, Rockefeller made his massive fortune by dominating the oil industry. While Rockefeller was prone to controversy—he was accused of being a monopoly in the fuel business—he was also a generous philanthropist, donating over a half-billion dollars in his lifetime (and that's also unadjusted for inflation).

Hugh Hefner

popular name: Hugh Hefner

date_of_death: September 27, 2017

age: 91

cause_of_death: Sepsis and cardiac arrest caused by an E. coli infection

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Hugh Hefner transformed the adult entertainment industry with his groundbreaking publication Playboy. From the first issue featuring Marilyn Monroe in December 1953, Playboy expanded into a multimillion-dollar enterprise mirroring the often controversial, if not outright sleazy, sensibilities of its founder. By the early 1960s, it was a huge success, soon expanding to open its namesake clubs all over the world. It also moved into TV with Playboy After Dark. By the 1970s, Hefner set himself up at the Playboy Mansion West in California, remaining editor-in-chief of the magazine he founded while daughter Christie ran the day to day operations. Once worth in excess of $200 million, upon his death the Playboy empire was worth $55 million while the magazine folded in 2020.

Charles Louis Fleischmann

popular name: Charles Louis Fleischmann

date_of_death: December 10, 1897

age: 62

cause_of_death: Paralysis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Charles Louis Fleischmann was a Hungarian-American who, along with his brother Maximilian and another partner, created America’s first commercially produced yeast, which revolutionized baking in a way that made today’s mass production and consumption of bread possible. It all began in 1870 when, at the instigation of his partner, Charles began to make yeast by a Hungarian method with which he had been long familiar. The patent for making compressed yeast from the froth or scum formed during the manufacture of malt or spirituous liquors was taken out, however, by his brother Henry, who assigned it to Fleischmann & Gaff in return for an annuity. This yeast was slow in finding a market, so that the partners nearly failed. As a last resort they put on a huge exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, at which spectators could see the yeast made, the dough set, and the bread baked, and could then adjourn to a restaurant and eat the bread. The exhibit was popular; the restaurant yielded a cash profit; and the advertising value of the enterprise was enormous. Thereafter there was no trouble in selling Fleischmann’s yeast. After Gaff’s death in 1879, Fleischmann bought his share in the business for $500, 000. His wealth grew rapidly. He became a director in some twenty-five Cincinnati enterprises and was president of a cooperage company, a large vinegar works in Illinois, a newspaper company, and the Market National Bank. He took a hand in civic affairs, was fire commissioner in 1890, was elected as a Republican to the state Senate in 1879 and again in 1895, and was a friend and adviser of William McKinley. Today Fleischmann's Yeast is the #1 seller of yeast and the #2 manufacture of vinegar in the world.

Back to Top