Jack Daniel’s family’s Milan home robbed

by Anthony Smith (staff) | Monday, December 28th, 2009

On Christmas Day a collection of luxury watches was nabbed from the exclusive Milanese apartment of Garvin Brown III, of the Brown-Forman company owners of the world-famous Tennessee 7 whiskey.

The 66 year-old was not even present in Italy during the break-in when thieves rummaged through the luxury suite in Milan’s Via Bigli, a rich-folk’s residential neighbourhood.

Before making off with Mr Brown’s priceless time-pieces the culprits were interrupted by the building’s alarm system which probably saved the owner from losing even more items of value.

Garvin Brown III is a member of the Brown family whose ancestor George Garvin Brown founded the company in 1870 basing its success on the then novel idea of selling whiskey in sealed glass bottles. Brown-Forman added Jack Daniel’s to its line of premium liquors in 1956.

The famous Tennessee 7 has been at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Moore County, Tennessee since its foundation in 1866. Founder Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel died childless (famously from a toe infection that spread throughout his body) and passed the company on to his favourite nephew, Lem Motlow.

Jack Daniel’s is now regarded a blue-chip brand in its own right, the company sold over 8 million cases in 2005 alone. Yet, despite the distillery’s presence, Moore County is a dry ‘alcohol-free’ county.