Gangsters, guns and the real McCoy
Tom Bruce-Gardyne traces the history of Berry Bros. and Rudd through Prohibition, a period that saw the birth of one of themost famous blends in the world, Cutty Sark.
Jack Diamond was not a typical Berry Brothers customer – that much was obvious. For one thing, not many of those who bought their port and claret from this ancient and venerable wine merchant had a quashed conviction for one homicide, let alone five. And not many were destined for the same fate.
After a charmed life flogging bootlegged liquor to his American compatriots, 'Legs' Diamond, as he was known for his skill on the dance-floor, finally met his match. He was rubbed out by a fellow gangster in a New York boarding house – while wearing nothing but his silk underwear.
History is hazy over the precise details of Diamond's order for three hundred cases of "gen-U-ine" Scotch whisky for cash some time in the early 1920s. No one really knows whether he came in person to cut a deal with Francis and Walter Berry at their emporium in the heart of London's clubland, but if he did it must have been quite a scene. On one side of the counter a character seemingly sprung from the hardboiled prose of Raymond Chandler and on the other two of the leading purveyors of fine wine to the Establishment. Walter Berry was said to have an almost religious devotion to the subject and when not tending the shop could be found foraging the vineyards of Europe. Francis shared his second cousin's love of wine and cognac, but appears to have been more worldly wise and certainly better travelled in his role in charge of foreign sales.
Aware of his recent trips to the States, then in the grip of P.....
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By Tom Bruce-Gardyne
Section : Whisky History
Page number : 32
