The Cyrus Noble Story

The Cyrus Noble story is truly a San Francisco success story with roots in our California gold rush. Originally Cyrus Noble himself tried his luck in the California gold fields but with no luck and returned to his home in Ohio. Cyrus took a Job with the Freiberg-Workum distillery in Lynchberg, Ohio, where his tasting and blending talents were developed and perfected. By 1871, he was promoted to superintendent of the distillery. The year was 1871 when a brand of whiskey was named after him. The exact circumstance is unknown, but it is said that Cyrus was intoxicated by perfecting a new bourbon when he fell in one of the vats of whiskey. Henceforth, that whiskey was named "Cyrus Noble".

Cyrus Noble Whiskey Faro Table

The game is called Faro and it was very popular card game around the turn of the last century. This classic saloon painting was commissioned for Cyrus Noble Whiskey as an advertising piece.
Find out more here.

At the same time, Ernest Reuben Lilienthal, attorney just out of the Cincinnati, decided to go into the wholesale liquor business in San Francisco. Ernest took a liking to Cyrus Noble and his story thus adopting "Cyrus Noble" as the trademark and handled the Freiberg's products under their trademarks as well as his own. Another brand that he made famous was W.A. Lacey.

Lilienthal and Co. grew rapidly, and by 1895 was the largest wholesale liquor company on the West Coast, The Company’s interests were so diverse by 1895 that the liquor interests were divided and renamed “Crown Distilleries Co.” During this time, Cyrus Noble whiskey became a Western favorite. Two famous stories follow:

  1. In May, 1899, when Admiral Dewey was informed of his promotion to Admiral of the U.S. Navy, to celebrate, “He then reached for a bottle of Cyrus Noble, a sour mash bourbon, filled two glasses..." and with his friend drank a toast.
  2. In 1901, Searchlight, Nevada, In a rip roaring mining camp came John Coleman the prospector. Like many prospectors, he was willing to trade a claim for anything else he could find useful. John, In this case, traded a claim for one bottle of Cyrus Noble Whiskey, the “best bourbon in town.” The claim was developed into a rich mine, called the Cyrus Noble Mine, and yielded over $250,000 in gold (or silver according to some versions).