As everyone who has been conscious knows, Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy died in 2009. RIP.
Kennedy, like his brothers, went to Harvard, and profits from whiskey might have helped pay the tuition bill.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Ted’ s tough-as-nails father, had his hands in many businesses, including booze. According to the Kennedy Presidential Library, he was an importer of Haig & Haig Scots Whisky, Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey, and King William IV Scotch Whisky.
Rumors long have swirled that Papa Kennedy was a bootlegger during Prohibition or a smuggler. Whether he had a hand in production and sales of any illicit hooch is unclear, and seems a bit farfetched. Others have suggested that Kennedy was just a sharp businessman, that he bought large stocks of whiskey before Prohibition began, which he sold afterward.
Whatever the case, as this blog is at pains to make clear, whiskey has had a Forest Gump-like presence in the history over the past few centuries.
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Question: Does the Kennedy family still receive royalties from the importing of Scotch Whiskey?
Ha! Fun question. Whther they presently hold any stock in a drinks company I do not know. They tend to be rather secretive. 🙂