Hyman and Henry Sonn "were not distillers, but rectifiers, taking supplies of 'raw' whiskey, mixing them to taste and bottling them" under two brand names, Old Cabinet Rye and the top-shelf Buckingham Rye. Their liquor business, which moved to this location in 1901, moved again, not many years later, one block to the north. The brothers, who earlier had been fish merchants and grocers and who later ran an import-export business, ultimately weathered Prohibition thanks to many and varied dealings in real estate.
Sonn Bros. Company Whiskies
Surviving signage, 31 Desbrosses St. (a.k.a. 440 Washington St.), Manhattan
