Toast to the Memory of Lehman Brothers

If you’re a financial investor, you may have to drink this new whisky with a pinch of salt. A London-based entrepreneur has just launched a new range of whiskies and named them after Lehman Brothers, the now-defunct financial services giant. Now, drink all your troubles away with the three different whiskies. The whiskies are a throwback to the dire times of the 2008 financial meltdown. James Green, the man behind this project, was inspired to keep the name of the bank alive by the memory of the incident.

The bottles of the new brand bear the logo of Lehman Brothers. Green has worked with distillers in Scotland and Southern Carolina to produce Lehman Brothers. The blends, both in taste and name, relate the bitter tale of the investment firm’s collapse. The first blend is an American whisky and has been named Snapfire. It is meant to “mimic” the historic financial crash. The second is named Ashes of Disaster. Green says that it is “tempered with humility to demonstrate the lack of activity that followed the devastation”. The last spirit has been named Evergreen. It contains notes of “growth and promise” and, in a way, signifies rebirth. Green says that he wants people to savour the story.

Barclays had bought a part of Lehman Brothers after the latter filed for bankruptcy. The British bank fought a legal battle with Green after he tried to register a trademark for the whiskies at New York's Division of Corporations. The bank thought the whiskies were somehow connected to the firm. But nothing is going to hold Green back as he has already received orders from a number of bars in both London and New York, which are apparently eager to serve the whiskies.