Trying to make a sensible purchase of bourbon, I did what I always do: I checked out the brands on Wikipedia. It should not shock anyone that most of the bourbon brands are owned by large companies. What did I end up buying? Well, you'll have to be patient. Here's a breakdown of all those big companies:
Diageo (rev. approx $20.12 billion) - You know this company, even if you don't recognize the name. They own Guinness, Bushmills, and Johnnie Walker (and many many others). Bourbon brands: Bulleit
Beam, Inc (rev unknown) - This company is the result of a reorganization by parent company Fortune Brands that finally separated all of the spirits from brands like Moen, Fypon, and Masterlock, which, uh, aren't spirits. The reorganization happened in October, which is why the revenue numbers aren't there. The combined group reported revenue of $6.7 billion in 2010, to give you a sense of the scale. Bourbon brands: Booker's, Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Maker's Mark (purchased from a now defunct Anglo-French conglomerate called Allied-Domecq), Old Crow, Old Grand-Dad, and, wait for it, Jim Beam
Brown-Forman (rev $3.23 billion) - This a pretty big company, but it's also local, so that makes up for it a bit. The company and the families are also huge supporters of the arts and many other causes in Louisville and farther afield, so they have that going for them as well. Bourbon brands: Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Early Times, Old Forester
Heaven Hill (private): A private company means it doesn't have to report much to anyone other than its owners, but it is but it is the 7th largest alcohol supplier in the country and the 2nd largest bourbon supplier, so it's save to say, it's not small. Bourbon brands: Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Heaven Hill, Old Fitzgerald
Kentucky Bourbon Distiller's (private): These guys are also private and they don't exactly distill their own stuff, despite the name (they are refurbing a distillery though, so they will soon. Bourbon brands: Rowan's Creek, Willet, Johnny Drum, Noah's Mill, Pure Kentucky XO, Kentucky Vintage.
I ended up with Rowan's Creek, for a couple of reasons. I was looking for something that was truly small batch (Maker's can call themselves small batch, but when every liquor store has a wall of Maker's, it's hard to take that seriously) and relatively obscure. I have high hopes for this bourbon, but the more I think about it, the more likely I am to buy Brown-Forman in the future.
Now, you may be wondering, why the hell would anyone spend this much time investigating something like bourbon?! I'll tell you, I am fascinated by global capitalism. I'm a huge fan of globalisation and what it has allowed us to achieve as consumers, including the ability to not choose something from a major global conglomerate. But I think people are also frequently ignorant of just how pervasive such sprawling global powerhouses are and the pivotal role they play in making trips to the grocery store more interesting and a lot easier on the wallet. You can rail against the 1% or just plain feel queasy about what your money does when it leaves the aforementioned wallet, but the most important duty of consumers is to make informed purchasing decisions, especially if you have a political point of view. There is no more powerful act as a political animal than where you decide to put your money, every day. You can hate Food, Inc all you want, but if you don't understand how Food, Inc works (including some of the ways they are using organic to capitalize on the fact that you hate them), you will never effectively fight what you hate. For me, that means really understanding where my bourbon comes from, along with a lot of other things, of course. But it's a habit that's got to start somewhere.
