Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it manufactures several very well known brands throughout the world, including Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, GlenDronach, BenRiach, Glenglassaugh, Herradura, Korbel, and Chambord.

[5] According to one source, the company was founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, a young pharmaceuticals salesman in Louisville, and his partner John Forman.

[11] With the onset of Prohibition in the United States, Brown–Forman was granted one of six national licenses to produce medicinal whiskey.

[12] In 2005, the company sold its Lenox division (one of the oldest and most famous manufacturers of fine china in the United States), which had been acquired in 1983, to Department 56 for $160 million.

One year later in 2008, it sold the Bolla and Fontana Candida Italian wine brands to Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV).

[16] In 2011, the company sold Fetzer Vineyards and associated brands to Chilean wine producer Viña Concha y Toro S.A. for $238 million.

Brown–Forman beverage brands include:[23] American whiskey: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey: Old Forester, Woodford Reserve Tennessee whiskey: Jack Daniel's Canadian whisky: Collingwood Irish whiskey: Slane Scotch whisky: Single malt Scotch whisky: BenRiach, GlenDronach, Glenglassaugh Gin: Fords Liqueur: Chambord Ready-to-drink coolers: Little Black Dress Tequila: Don Eduardo, El Jimador, Herradura, Pepe Lopez Vodka: Finlandia Wine: Korbel (distributed), Sonoma-Cutrer Wines In 2009, Newsweek magazine ranked Brown–Forman in their "Green Rankings"[24] which examines 500 of the largest corporations on their environmental track record.