Bounded evidence of postwar concentration through production capacity, brand ownership, bottling, purchasing from independents, advertising, and distribution. Attribute the figures to the 1948 Senate account.
Senator James E. Murray contrasted the four largest firms' output and a little-less-than-half share of distilling capacity with their approximately three-quarters share of bottled-whiskey marketing, then described brand acquisition, advertising, and purchases from independent producers.
A 1948 Senate account reported that the four largest companies produced nearly 80 million of approximately 168 million proof gallons in fiscal 1947 and marketed about 75 percent of bottled whiskey sold in the United States.
1696
1696
Distilling-industry structure
Verified against printed page 1696 in the complete 42-page issue. The quantities, proof-gallon unit, fiscal-1947 period, and approximately 75-percent bottled-whiskey comparison all appear in context. The source does not reproduce the underlying datasets.
Capture evidence faithfully. Select one Source, record a usable locator, and preserve enough surrounding context to prevent misquotation.
Evidence
The record is a paraphrased data statement, not a direct quotation. It preserves the quantities, unit, period, and attributed market comparison from printed page 1696.
Location and context
Locator: Congressional Record, February 25, 1948, printed page 1696, section discussing distilling-industry structure and grain allocation.
Context: Senator James E. Murray contrasted the four largest companies' production capacity and output with their larger share of bottled-whiskey marketing, then described brand ownership, advertising, and purchases from independent producers.
Annotation
This evidence is useful because it separates production share from branded-market control. It should be presented as a contemporaneous 1948 Senate account of fiscal 1947, not as a timeless or independently audited market-share series.