Jim Beam

The Beam family have been involved in the bourbon industry for more than 200 years, and seven generations. In 1788, Jacob Beam settled in Kentucky, and, like many of settlers, began distilling the locally farmed grain. His son, David Beam, took over his responsibilities in 1820 at the age of 18. His son, also called David was handed the reins to the family business in 1850. Four years later, in order to be near Kentucky’s first railroad, the distillery was moved to Nelson County. His son James B. Beam – better known as Jim. Under Jim Beam’s tenure, the business thrived, despite 13 years of Prohibition. When Prohibition ended in 1933, Jim Beam built and moved to a new distillery in Clermont, near his Bardstown home. From this point forward, the bourbon was called Jim Beam Bourbon. His son Jeremiah helped set up a new distillery in Clermont in a mere 120 days. He later earned the title of master distiller, opening a second distillery in 1954 near Boston, KY, which, just like the distillery Jim Beam built in Clermont, is still producing bourbon. James B Beams’s grandson, Booker Noe became Master Distiller Emeritus at the Jim Beam