The Story of "V.O."

V.O. Bottle, Waterloo, Ontario; circa 1941; glass, spirit, paper, ink, nylon, foil; B87.22.1.

One of the most well-known whiskies produced at the Waterloo plant was Seagram's "V.O.". In 1913, Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Limited released this new brand of whisky to celebrate the marriage of Joseph Seagram's son Thomas. The original meaning of the initials has not been documented. Family tradition states that "V.O." stood for "Very Own", as this was a whisky blend created for Seagram's own family. Others claim that the initials stand for "Very Old" in keeping with the distiller's assertion that it was a very old Canadian whisky.

Since its introduction to the market, the labelling and packaging of "V.O." has witnessed several significant changes. In 1940, the Governor General of Canada, Lord Athlone, granted a warrant for "V.O." and his Coat of Arms was added to the "V.O." label. Lord Athlone held office from 1940 to 1946 and died in 1957. Governor General's warrants were not granted by any of his successors, however, and those firms who received the warrant were entitled to use it only until the death of the grantee. Following the death of Lord Athlone, the "V.O." label was changed accordingly. Further changes to the label occurred in 1976, when all Canadian product labels, including "V.O.", were made bilingual.

The black and gold ribbon, representing the racing colours of the Seagram stables, was added to the "V.O." bottle in 1940. In 1994, a decision was made to change the traditional colours of the ribbon to burgundy and gold. In August, 1996, the ribbon was completely removed from the "V.O." bottle.