A legend.
Still unfolding.

1. 1933

   A Baltimore story begins.

   Prohibition had just ended when Samuel J. Bernstein opened Montebello’s doors in Baltimore. He started with the basics: a blended whiskey, a gin, and a debut label he called Pride of Baltimore. It wasn’t much, but it was his, and it was the first page of a story Montebello is still writing.

   

2. Late 1930s

   Twelve cases. A new direction.

   A few years later, opportunity showed up at an auction. Samuel picked up twelve cases of Russian vodka almost on a whim, bottled it, and sold it as Vladimir Genuine Vodka. Vodka barely had a foothold in America yet. Montebello had already placed its bet.

   12

   CASES OF RUSSIAN VODKA

   From the company story

3. 1962

   Two generations at the helm.

   By the early 1960s, Montebello was a family business through and through. Samuel ran it as president, with his son Alfred stepping in as vice president, and together they pushed to grow it further, filing plans for a stock offering to fund more bottling equipment, more inventory, more room to build on what they’d started.

   

4. 1963–64

   A little thing called Kik.

   Montebello has never been shy about trying something new. In the early 1960s, that meant Kik, a blend of fruit juice and wine that arrived years before the words “wine cooler” entered the American vocabulary. Trademark records place its filing in 1963 and its registration in 1964, an early, adventurous swing that hinted at more innovation to come.

   Kik

   FRUIT JUICE + WINE

   From the company story

5. By 1981

   The story carries forward.

   The Bernstein years gave way to a new generation. By 1981, Leo Conte was on record as a Montebello officer, with Agnes Conte alongside him carrying the business forward. Decades later, the company still counts Leo and Agnes among the leaders who kept Montebello moving.

   

6. 1984

   The Long Island enters the story.

   Then, in 1984, Montebello poured its boldest idea yet: the Original Long Island Iced Tea Cocktail. Rum, vodka, gin, tequila and triple sec, bottled at 42 proof and ready to pour over ice, no shaker, no recipe card, no guesswork required. It became a Montebello signature, and four decades later it’s still the cornerstone of a lineup that has grown to include Mango, Peach Island and Passion Fruit, every one of them made the same easy way: just add ice.

   

7. 2020

   New leadership. More possibilities.

   In 2020, Harmeet Sandhu took the helm as CEO, continuing Montebello’s push into new flavors. Under his leadership, the collection grew to include Mango, Passion Fruit and Peach Island Long Island Iced Teas, alongside a new Screwdriver cocktail, each one 42 proof and built on the same easy-drinking foundation as the original.

   

8. Today

   El Condor joins the lineup.

   Today, Montebello’s newest adventure wears a different label: El Condor, a lineup of ready-to-serve tequila cocktails. Pineapple Mango and Grapefruit Lime keep it bright and citrus-forward at 21 proof, while Mexican Coffee turns things up to 42 proof for something completely different. Three flavors, one restless spirit of experimentation, still going strong.

   

Timeline concept · Company history and historical records.