Justerini & Brooks

In 1749, Giacomo Justerini (or Giustarini) from Bologna, fell in love with a soprano and followed her to London, bringing with him a number of recipes for liqueurs created by his father, who was a distiller. He met an English investor, George Johnson, and together they founded the wine merchants Johnson & Justerini. In 1760, Justerini returned to his native land after selling the business to Johnson. Johnson continued to grow the business, naming his grandson, Augustus, as a partner, and building relationships with European suppliers from Bordeaux, Cadiz, Mayence, Reims, Genoa, Dijon and Palermo.[3]

Justerini & Brooks crest

The next year, King George III honoured the firm with its first Royal Warrant, which has been granted by eight consecutive British Monarchs since that date.[4]

George Johnson was killed by a runaway horse colliding with his sedan chair in Piccadilly in 1785, while returning from a lunch with the Duke of Queensberry, leaving Augustus Johnson solely in charge of the company. In 1790, Johnson & Justerini's offices suffered major damage by a fire in the adjoining opera house—Her Majesty's Theatre. Augustus Johnson's son, Augustus II, is made a partner in recognition of his efforts to extinguish the flames.[3]

When King George III died in 1820, Augustus Johnson II continued stocking the royal cellars, often delivering up to seven wagon-loads of liquor at a time.

In 1831, Johnson sold the business to Alfred Brooks. A gentleman of means - it was said that his St John's Wood gardens were sufficiently large to include a snipe shoot. The firm was renamed Justerini & Brooks, and its headquarters were established in Regent's Park. Charles Dickens was an early customer.[5]

When Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India in 1858, Justerini & Brooks immediately saw a commercial opportunity and began selling to many of the country's reigning Princes and Maharajahs. Furthering its international expansion, Justerini & Brooks opened a New York office in 1866.

In 1876, Alfred Brooks handed the company over to his son-in-law, William Cole. Cole laid down large stocks of young wines, seeing them as essential to the business' success.[3]

Seeing the potential of blended whisky, J&B was one of the first London spirits merchants to buy up stocks of mature malt whisky and create its own "house" blend. This was named Club. William Cole sold Justerini & Brooks to Anderson & Newbiggin in 1889, shortly before his death. The company began selling a specially curated Champagne, 'Sarcey', to King Edward VII in 1908. In 1914 (or at the end of World War I[6]), the firm debuted its cellarage service for its private collectors.[3] Justerini & Brooks now stores circa £200 million of its customers reserves, which is held with Cellarers at Octavian's warehouse in Corsham, Wiltshire.

During Prohibition, Justerini & Brooks was promoting a brand they had created specifically for the American market, J&B Rare, and when Prohibition came to an end in 1933, their activities began to pay dividends in and around New York City.

During World War II, pre-war wine prices inflated 20 times over, but J&B continued to sell bottles at 1939 prices as a gesture of goodwill and solidarity.[3]

In 1976 Justerini & Brooks' managing director Geoffrey Jameson opened up the Hong Kong wine market with a series of lavish dinners held at both the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Peninsula hotel. A focus on Singapore followed in 1980s, which has continued to the present day.

Justerini & Brooks launched the charity conservation programme "J&B Care for the Rare" in 1992, an international initiative to save rare species from extinction.[3] It is now involved with Prince William's conservation charity Tusk Trust.

In 2001, J&B became the exclusive agent for Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair in the UK and Singapore.[7] In 2008, Hew Blair became J&B chairman, having joined the business in 1974, and being the buying director since 1982. In 2011 Hew Blair was appointed President of the Royal Warrant Holders Association and earned a seat on the Buckingham Palace Wine Committee.[3]

In 2012, Chadwick Delaney became managing director of Justerini & Brooks, having been Sales Director since 2003.

In 2014, Justerini & Brooks became UK distributors for both Chateau Lafleur and Petrus.

• 1749 – The merchant was founded by Giacomo Justerini and George Johnson under the name Johnson & Justerini.
• 1760 – Justerini moves back to Bologna, selling his share of the business to Johnson. Johnson and his son Augustus are now in control.
• 1831 – Augustus Johnson sells Johnson & Justerini to Alfred Brooks, who renames the business Justerini & Brooks.
• 1889 – Brooks' son-in-law William Cole, now in charge of the business, sold Justerini & Brooks to Anderson & Newbiggin.
• 1962 – Justerini & Brooks merged with gin producer W&A Gilbey to form International Distillers & Vintners (IDV).
• 1972 – IDV becomes part of Grand Metropolitan, which then merged with Guinness to become Diageo.[3]

Justerini & Brooks are an importer of domaine-bottled fine wines from Burgundy, Barolo and Germany into the UK.[8] As well as having long-standing relationships with the finest properties in Bordeaux, the Rhône, the Loire and Champagne.

Justerini & Brooks' fine wine list includes wines from all over the world.

Old World wines include Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, and Rhone. New World varieties include wines from Australia, New Zealand, California, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

J&B Rare Blend, the blended scotch whisky brand, is a blend of forty-two malt and grain whiskies. It has an ABV of 40%. It includes the single malts Knockando, Auchroisk and Glen Spey.[9]

From 1997 to 2018, Justerini & Brooks had lost the distribution of the J&B whisky in the UK.[10]