Citation: Coakley, Michael B. "RAYMOND KASSER, 69." Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA), FINAL ed., sec. LOCAL, 14 Sept. 1991, p. A10.
Raymond H. Kasser, 69, a prominent Philadelphia distiller whose innovations helped make his small, family-owned business one of the leading producers of spirits in Pennsylvania, died Thursday at his home in Bala Cynwyd.
For many years, Mr. Kasser headed Kasser Distillers Products Corp., a distillery founded by his late father, Samuel. Even the distillery's location - Third and Luzerne Streets - suggested a marketing ploy to Mr. Kasser.
When, in the early 1970s, the Kasser corporation was gearing up to market multi-liter jugs of inexpensive California wines, Mr. Kasser looked out his window at the street sign and came up with the product's name: Chateau Luzerne.
In 1950, he was the first to re-introduce the full quart of whiskey in Pennsylvania (although the term a fifth continues to be applied by many to almost any size bottle of liquor). He introduced the no-drip pourer, pioneered large-scale wine advertising and was among the first in the nation to use television commercials to promote wine.
Mr. Kasser was much like a character in one of his products' television commercials- the obviously wealthy man who, to a young woman's surprise, decants a bottle of inexpensive wine with the words, "How do you think I got so rich?"
Mr. Kasser was a millionaire many times over; and the way he got so rich was by using his head and aggressively marketing a quality yet low-cost line of spirits. Some of the distillery's brands include Kasser's 51, Four Queens and Monogram whiskeys; Kasser vodka, and a long line of cordials under the House of Kasser label. The company's products were for many years among the top-selling, half-dozen brands in the state.
When he retired in 1988, he sold Kasser Distillers Products Corp. for $25 million to a group of investors headed by Chestnut Hill businessman Thomas J. Knox. The old Kasser products today are marketed under a variety of names throughout much of the Northeast.
Born in North Philadelphia, Mr. Kasser attended Olney High School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied merchandising and advertising. A fine athlete, and a slender 6-foot-3, he played tennis and was on the swimming and basketball teams.
He was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, rose to the rank of lieutenant and served as a bombardier and navigator during World War II.
He served as board chairman of the Independent American Whiskey Association and of the National Association of Wine Producers and Bottlers Inc., who chose him their Man of the Year in 1962.
He was a member of the boards of the Philadelphia Psychiatric Center, The Hebrew University, the Police Athletic League and Presbyterian Hospital.
Surviving are his wife, the former Flora Golden; sons, Richard H. and Lawrence; two brothers; four sisters, and six grandchildren.
Services will be 2 p.m. tomorrow at Joseph Levine & Son, 7112 N. Broad St. Interment will be at Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.
