1877 | RIEGER FAMILY ORIGINS

Jacob Rieger immigrated to America from Goritz, Austria/Hungary in 1877 with his wife Mary, son Alexander, and daughter Sallie.The Rieger family moved to Kansas City in the early 1880s, where Jacob opened a grocery store.

1887 | THE WETTEST BLOCK IN THE WORLD

By 1887, Jacob was on to his newest business venture: making booze. Jacob founded J. Rieger & Co. at 1529 Genesee Street in Kansas City’s West Bottoms neighborhood, between the Livestock Exchange Building and the bustling Union Depot train station. Situated right on the Missouri/Kansas border, the West Bottoms was the central hub of Kansas City. Kansas enacted statewide prohibition in 1881, making it particularly popular to cross state line to imbibe on a lively stretch of saloons, casinos and retailers known as the ‘Wettest Block in the World’.

1900 - 1914 | AMERICAN ENTERPRISE

In 1900, Jacob turned operations over to his son, Alexander Rieger, a savvy businessman who grew the brand into the largest mail-order whiskey house in the United States with over 100 alcoholic products ranging from their signature whiskies and gins to rums and stomach bitters. At its peak, the family business reached over 250,000 customers backed by a proud tagline: “O! So Good!” Alexander developed a thriving catalog and direct mail business, combining artful advertising with price lists and a convenient mail-order system. In 1914, when flooding forced Union Station to relocate uptown, Alexander opened The Rieger Hotel just blocks away. One of the first budget hotels, The Rieger Hotel offered train travelers an alternative to the more luxury stays in town. Cementing his legacy, Alexander commissioned a mural on the south side of the hotel featuring a bottle of Rieger’s Monogram Whiskey which still stands as a beloved KC landmark.

1919 | ​PROHIBITION AND THE YEARS TO FOLLOW

J. Rieger & Co. continued to thrive until Prohibition was enacted in 1919. Alexander reluctantly shut the doors of J. Rieger & Co. and The Rieger Hotel. The hotel has changed hands many times over the years, but the Rieger name remains carved into the marble cornice. Sadly, the original J. Rieger & Co. distillery building was razed in the 1950s. The Riegers founded a local bank, an industry that stayed in the family until the 1980s when Andy Rieger, Jacob Rieger’s great-great-great grandson, was born in Kansas City.

2009 | REVIVING A LEGACY

In 2009, 90 years after the onset of Prohibition, the idea for bringing back the historic distillery was dreamed up by Ryan Maybee, a Kansas City hospitality entrepreneur behind Manifesto, an award-winning bar in the basement of the original Rieger Hotel, and a co-owner of The Rieger restaurant on the main floor. Fascinated with the building’s connection to the pre-Prohibition distillery, Ryan was determined to restore its legacy. A chance meeting with Andy Rieger, the only living Rieger on Jacob’s side, sealed the deal.

Over the next couple of years, while working in Dallas, Andy helped Ryan develop a business plan for the distillery. They purchased the original trademark (last owned by Alexander Rieger, it had expired in 1922), and developed the modern J. Rieger & Co. brand with the distillery’s original name, logo, slogan (O! So Good!), and bottle design as inspiration. The past came alive with the help of Paul Gronquist, a collector of pre-Prohibition whiskey memorabilia, who owned nearly 100 J. Rieger & Co. pieces, including century-old bottles, labels, mailers, order forms and custom advertising.

2014 | O! SO GOOD TO BE BACK!

In 2014, under the guidance of industry veteran Dave Pickerell, Andy quit his job in Dallas and moved back to Kansas City to launch the new distillery. In October 2014, more than four years after first meeting, Andy and Ryan opened J. Rieger & Co. and introduced the world to the newly formulated Rieger Kansas City Whiskey.

2014 | REDEFINING AMERICAN WHISKEY

Based on extensive research to revive pre-Prohibition practices, Rieger became the first producer to revitalize the practice of adding sherry into whiskey, creating a whole new classification: Kansas City Whiskey. On October 30, 2014, Kansas City Whiskey was formally introduced at the 100-year anniversary of Union Station, a fitting tie to a profound legacy. Then and now it has been a benchmark American whiskey backed by over a decade of industry accolades.

2015 - 2016 | PIONEERS IN KANSAS CITY

Head Distiller Nathan Perry joined the team in 2015 to learn his trade under the mentorship of the late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell. In May 2015, Rieger debuted a 750-gallon copper Vendome still to support daily distillation and the introduction of Premium Wheat Vodka. In July 2015, legendary Master Distiller Tom Nichol (of Tanqueray fame) became a Rieger partner and helped develop Midwestern Dry Gin while training Nathan and team on the classic London Dry Style. In 2016, Caffè Amaro, a bittersweet coffee liqueur, was added to the line-up.

2017 | MONOGRAM SOLERA RESERVA

In March 2017, Rieger introduced another pioneering style: Monogram Solera Reserva, an exceptional blend of whiskeys aged in 50–100-year-old Sherry botas from the Williams & Humbert Solera Especial. Rare and entirely original, Monogram is a highly limited annual release made for the ultimate whiskey connoisseur.

2019 - 2022 | A NEW DISTILLERY RISES

Housed in a landmark building dating to 1901 in the Electric Park neighborhood, Rieger debuted a new state-of-the-art production expansion and cocktail-friendly hospitality center complete with four unique bars in 2019. In August 2021, the youngest rickhouse barrels turned 6 years old and were finally ready for bottling. Rieger Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey was released to officially become the first whiskey distilled in Kansas City, Missouri since Prohibition, followed by Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon in summer 2022.

2020 | A HARD PIVOT

In 2020, just 9 months after opening our new distillery space, the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the country. In a desperate attempt to help our community and keep our amazing team employed, we pivoted to producing hand sanitizer. Seemingly overnight, the “whiskey factory” turned into a “hand sanitizer factory”. More than 250,000 bottles of hand sanitizer later, we were thrilled to have been able to do our part in helping our area hospitals, first responders, hospitality industry, and community members, while keeping our team employed. Our efforts were honored by our state and local governments, and showcased on local and national news.

2022 | NATHAN PERRY NAMED MASTER DISTILLER

In October 2022, Nathan Perry was honored with a Master Distiller title from Master Distiller Tom Nichol. That year Nathan was also inducted into the Gin Guild, a global distinction honor that has only been bestowed to 400 members worldwide in recognition of exceptional work and a track record of accomplishment. One of the youngest recipients of this title, Nathan is the only Master Distiller to have earned this title in Kansas City and has led the Rieger production team since 2014.

2025 | TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING

In February 2025, Straight Rye became the latest edition to The Kansas City Whiskey Collection together with Kansas City Whiskey and Straight Bourbon. Each aged a minimum of 4-5 years, the collection delivers exceptional flavor profiles and accessible pricing.