New Jersey's Laird & Co. is 78 Years Older Than the US and Still Family-Run

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary on July 4, a New Jersey distillery is quietly marking an even older legacy. Laird & Company, founded in 1698 in Colts Neck, New Jersey, predates the nation by 78 years. The apple brandy maker has survived Prohibition, two world wars, and the Covid-19 pandemic, and remains in family hands with nine Lairds currently involved. George Washington is said to have been among its early patrons. Now in its eleventh generation of family ownership, Laird defies the odds — only 4% of family businesses survive beyond four generations.