J. Rieger & Co.

Jacob Rieger arrived in Kansas City from Austria-Hungary in 1885 and just two years later, he established J. Rieger & Co. The distiller's business grew quickly given the demand for spirits in the stockyards of Kansas City's West Bottoms. Home to a growing community of laborers, this part of the city was once referred to as "The Wettest Block in the World’ owing to its numerous saloons and taverns. With a statewide prohibition law in Kansas from 1881 to 1948, men who lived and worked on both sides of the state line congregated in this part of the city. Jacob’s son, Alexander Rieger established the Rieger Hotel and also took over his father's distillery in 1900. The younger Rieger grew his father's business by focusing on distribution and marketing, utilizing phrases like "Best on Earth" and "O! So Good" as he built J. Rieger & Co. into the largest mail-order whiskey business in the United States by the start of Prohibition. The distillery operated until the passage of the Volstead Act in 1919 and ceased production until the end of prohibition in 1933. While a small number of distilleries survived prohibition given lax enforcement in Kanas City, the Rieger family opened a bank. Rieger Whiskey's return began in 2009 when a local bartender created a speakeasy, a business that led to greater interest in the "spirited" history of Kansas City. The original company operated a distillery at 1529 Genessee. That building was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with a parking lot, while the modern Rieger distillery operates here at 2700 Guinotte Avenue.

In the late 1800s to early 1900s, Kansas City was rapidly expanding as the railroad made the city a hub for agriculture and manufacturing. While businesses that employed thousands of men operated on both sides of the state line, Kansas enacted prohibition in 1881, leading to even more saloons, taverns, and brothels in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Missouri. Nationwide prohibition did little to curb these industries in the 1920s as the Pendergast political machine made sure that no one in Kansas City was ever arrested for violating the Volstead Act.

Jacob Rieger and his family immigrated to America from Austria-Hungary in 1879 and arrived in Kansas City in 1885. Jacob was a businessman of many trades and, in 1887, he established “J. Rieger and Co.” dealers in fine liquors. This business was located at 1529 Genessee Street, across from the stockyards at Union Depot in the West Bottoms district. Jacob’s son Alexander was also a savvy businessman and took over the family operation in 1900. He created an elaborate marketing campaign, offering free gifts with his mail-order service, claiming that J. Rieger & Co. spirits to be the “Best on Earth” and “O! So Good”. It became the largest mail-order whiskey house with a base of over 250,000 customers. 

After multiple floods in the Union Depot district, many businesses were forced to relocate or close due to continuous and extensive damage. These floods led to the decision to create a new railroad depot further south, and Alexander Rieger responded by building a budget hotel within walking distance of the new Union Station which opened in 1914. The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange was located near Kansas City's new Union Station, but the distillery was now situated in an area that was no longer the center of traffic in and out of the city. In response, Alexander commissioned a mural on the west side of the Rieger Hotel where it would be viewed by tens of thousands of visitors each month, including hundreds of thousands of soldiers who passed through the city. The mural promoted the family's Monogram Whiskey.

Jacob Rieger passed away in 1914 at age 86. A few years later in 1919, federal prohibition laws led to the decision to pivot the family business. In January 1920, the Volstead Act enforced prohibition by barring the manufacturing, sale, and transport of alcohol. The distillery was forced to shut down and Alexander closed the doors of the hotel. The family focussed on finance, with Alexander opening a bank with his son shortly after the distillery closed. Alexander died in 1936. The original distillery building was demolished in the 1950s and replaced by a parking lot. At that time, the only physical reminder of the Rieger name could be found in the marble cornice atop the former hotel. This would be the case for over five decades until Ryan Maybee, a Kansas City bartender, saw the potential to open a bar that celebrated the city's "spirited" history.

After opening Manifesto, a speakeasy concept bar in the basement of the historic Rieger Hotel in 2009, Maybee partnered with chef Howard Hanna in 2010 to open a restaurant named in honor of the former distillery. The Rieger was an award-wining restaurant that operated on the main level of the building while Manifesto remained a popular place for celebrating the rebellious spirit of Kansas City during the era of prohibition. On the opening night of The Rieger, the last remaining blood relative to Jacob Rieger, Andy Rieger, came in to meet the owners and thank them for honoring his family. Maybee shared his plans with Rieger and the two men agreed to establish a distillery. Over the next few years, the two developed a business plan, purchased the original trademark, and with help from a Kansas City agency to brand the name, J. Rieger & Co. was back in business. 

Inspired by the past, the new J. Rieger & Co. uses the original name, logo, and slogan (‘O! So Good’). Since the original distillery was no longer standing, they secured the property of the former Heim Brothers Brewery in the East Bottoms neighborhood. While plans of a full distillery were in place, they also faced legal obstacles, and their first release was a blend from sourced barrels. For the first time in decades, in October 2014, J. Rieger & Co. successfully launched Rieger’s Kansas City Whiskey, which would soon be ranked in the top four for International Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient at the 2015 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. In 2015, operations were started and after learning some history of the whiskey trade, distillation began and J. Rieger & Co. expanded their selection to include a variety of other spirits.

Our Story, J. Rieger & Co.. Accessed November 12th 2021. https://www.jriegerco.com.

J. Rieger & Co. Resurrects a Legacy , The Telegraph. Accessed November 12th 2021. https://martincitytelegraph.com/2018/03/10/j-rieger-co-resurrects-a-legacy/.

Missouri MPS Rieger Hotel, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed November 12th 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63817559.