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ROUSES.COM
9
PROFILE
B
ill Goldring is on a quest. “I’m in
search of the Holy Grail,” he says,
with a mischievous grin.
But unlike the stuff of Arthurian legends
—where the Holy Grail is usually a cup
filled with food in infinite abundance—
Goldring’s vessel would be brimming with
the perfect whiskey, ideally one that would
come from one of the many distilleries that
are in his own current portfolio.
William Goldring, known to everyone as
“Bill,” is from the third generation to lead
the family in the beverage alcohol business.
His grandfather, Newman Goldring, was
in the business in 1898 in Florida before
Prohibition. Newman’s son, Stephen, was
born in Pensacola, Florida in 1908 and
moved with his family to Chicago during
Prohibition. Following the repeal of
Prohibition in December 1933, the second
generation Goldring returned to Florida
in 1939, opening a small wholesale liquor
distributorship.
In 1944, Stephen Goldring expanded his
business into New Orleans, a city known
for its love of all things spirits, founding the
Magnolia Liquor Company, a wholesale
liquor company, with his long-time business
partner,MalcolmWoldenberg.The two had
become acquainted when the Canadian-
bornWoldenberg, one of the first employees
of Seagram’s distillers in the United States,
paid a sales call to Goldring. Seagram was
Montreal-based at the time.
Among the partners’ earliest acquisitions
was the Sazerac Company in 1949, one of
the oldest family-owned business in New
Orleans, dating back to 1850s.
Both men, steeped in the philosophy that
to whom much is given, much is expected,
created foundations to support civic
endeavors to serve the greater good.
Look for at Rouses
We stock and sell more spirits than
anyone on the Gulf Coast. Sazerac brands
including Buffalo Trace and Benchmark
Bourbons, Fireball Whisky, Taaka Vodka
and Southern Comfort, are among our
biggest sellers.
Bill Goldring and Donald Rouse