The Maxwell House Hotel

 

Maxwell House, an American brand of coffee was introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek and British coffee broker, Roger Nolley Smith. It was named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Colonel John Overton Jr. decided to build Nashville's largest hotel in 1859 and would name it for his wife, Harriet (Maxwell) Overton. Because of its stature, seven US Presidents and other prominent guests stayed there over the years. The hotel became the first major customer of the coffee. The hotel was demolished in 1961.

The Maxwell House slogan, "Good to the last drop," originated in 1915 and became one of the most familiar advertising slogans of the Twentieth Century. For nearly 100 years, until the late 1980s, it was the highest-selling coffee brand in the United States.