Henry Preiss

Celebrating 50 Years in the Drinks Industry

Henry Preiss started working with liquor as a delivery driver in 1974. Half a century later, he's still going strong.

"Most of the time when somebody gets a lifetime achievement award, they've passed. They're not there to enjoy the celebration of their life and what they did in that industry," says Nikki Geyer, who runs drinks importer and marketer Preiss Imports alongside her father, Henry Preiss. "And there's not very many people that are still working in this industry after 50 years, who still love it and are passionate, and have the stories that my dad does."

On 21 July, at The Jaxson, New Orleans, the great and the good of the cocktail industry will toast Henry Preiss's career. Over the five decades since his own father, Erich, first enlisted him as a delivery driver, he has brought the Luxardo brand to prominence in the US, as well as Hirsch bourbon, helped to fuel the 1990s craft cocktail renaissance, built one of America's best Scotch portfolios, and been awarded the French government's Ordre du Mérite Agricole.

Franco Luxardo and Henry

Preiss's deep knowledge of and passion for drinks is recognised across the US and Europe. Julien Cointreau, of France's family-owned Iconic Nectars group, which includes Pages Vedrenne, pays tribute to Preiss's ability to build community and camaraderie alike: "[His] dedication, passion, and perseverance are truly inspiring."

And yet underlying half a century of enthusiasm, expertise, good humour and human connections is deep generational trauma.

From the camps to California

"My dad has an absolute inability to see anything in a negative light. He is loyal to people to a fault, and he is absolutely positive to a fault," says Nikki. "He just wants to take care of everybody and everybody who's ever taken care of him."

Nikki anchors her father's positivity in the trauma his parents, Erich and Ruth, experienced. Both were German Jews, although Erich escaped Europe before the Holocaust. "He was hoping to compete in the Berlin Olympics, but got word that no Jews would be allowed, so fled to Argentina," Nikki says.

But Ruth, who was younger, was not so lucky: She ended up facing starvation in a concentration camp in France and lost most of her family to the gas chambers. "She always said that, internally, she knew the day her mother died," Nikki says.

The couple met in Argentina after the war, and Henry was born there in 1952. But they returned to Germany-a hard, brave choice given what the Nazis had done to their families-because Preiss's mother wanted to fight for restitution for a hotel her family had owned. (Restitution only came after she died, but cobblestones outside the building commemorate the murders of various family members.)

Erich took a job as a drinks distributor, working with Jägermeister (then a niche product) and Mosel wines, before importing both his business and his family to California. Henry, then 10 and fluent in both German and Spanish but speaking not a word of English, had to adapt rapidly to the ways of an America that was only in the early days of Civil Rights.

"In those days, Spanish was not the most well-respected language to speak, and he got beat up quite frequently," Nikki says. "So he's not fluent in Spanish any more, but he's still fluent in German: That's what they spoke at home."

Building brands and businesses

The Preiss family business has been through several incarnations over the years, most recently in 2016 when Nikki and Henry reclaimed the rights to their family name and rebranded HPS Epicurean as Preiss Imports.

1975 - Henry in front of the Erich Preiss Co.'s new warehouse in Montebello California, shortly after the move from their former filthy downtown LA, Overland Terminal warehouse.

But the story starts with Erich, who hired Henry, then working construction, as a delivery driver. "During his deliveries, he would notice that there were maybe some products that could be placed and he would start talking to the companies," Nikki says. Instinct took over, and young Henry began to transition into the role of salesman.

Herny, the delivery driver

Sadly, Erich died after a long illness when Henry was just 24, having sold the business once he knew death was imminent. "The new owner was an investor. He didn't want to actively work in the business," Nikki says. "So he made my dad CEO."

Feeling that he'd rather own his own business than run somebody else's without mentorship or support, Henry quit to follow his own path. His first business failed, but a second, Wine Is Fine Inc, succeeded. It ultimately lost the wine element and evolved into the first Preiss Imports.

"He happened to get opportunities fall into his lap," Nikki says. "I guess you could say it's lucky, but my dad always says you don't have luck without hard work and being in the right place at the right time."

Between brands like Springbank and Luxardo, Preiss grew the business to the point where he could sell it. But he didn't rest on his laurels. After working alongside the new owners for three years, he re-entered the industry with Nikki in 2012.

An infectious passion

Tony Gonzalez of US distributor Winebow describes Henry Preiss as "an icon of the alcoholic beverage business."

One key element of Preiss's success as a talent spotter and brand builder is his ability to identify and surf a rising trend. "He follows trends really closely," Nikki says. "My dad is an avid reader. So he doesn't sit still and relax: he doesn't find it relaxing to relax. He works even when he's not working. He's always immersing himself in reports and articles."

But trends alone are not sufficient. Preiss has the ability to spot products with longevity, like Luxardo, alongside tenacity and courage. Offered the opportunity to buy Hirsch bourbon, Nikki recalls, he leveraged every single thing he and her mother owned-even though he had three children to support.

And, half a century after taking the wheel of that van in 1974, Preiss has absolutely zero plan to retire. "When he hits the grave!" Nikki laughs. "This is my dad's life. This is my dad's friends. This is my dad's identity. He just loves this business."

Henry and the Coppers team.

Tom Gosh & Henry brought Hacker-Pschorr Beer from Germany in 1978

Henry at a seminar on German Wines at Knolls Black Forest Restaurant in Santa Monica, CA, in 1976.