JIM BEAM Celebrates National Bourbon Heritage Month

By an act of the Congress in 2007, September has been declared "National Bourbon Heritage Month." We wanted to help bourbon fans celebrate this historic month with Jim Beam and some fascinating Beam/bourbon history.

Beam History

-In 1795, Jacob Beam sold his first barrel of whiskey to one very lucky colonialist. Called "Old Jake Beam Sour Mash," this whiskey was particularly popular among pioneers, farmers, and traders. The family distillery was known as "Old Tub."

-David M. Beam took over the business from his father in 1820. The Industrial Revolution helped increase distilling capacity with the transition from pot still to column still. The bourbon could be shipped by train and steamboat beyond Washington County.

-James Beauregard Beam-Jim Beam to his friends and family-arrived on the scene in 1863.

-In 1880, Beam family bourbon-bottled as "Old Tub"-became one of the first national brands. Before this, people brought their own jugs to the Old Tub family distillery and filled them with bourbon.

-James B. Beam took over the family distillery from his father, David M. Beam, in 1894. He was so protective of his bourbon's yeast strain that he brought a jug of it home with him every weekend. Fearing an accident would take place at the plant, he always had a sample to keep the strain alive.

-Prohibition began in 1920. It is the ONLY time Jim Beam didn't distill bourbon. Instead, he took a shot at coal mining and citrus farming. Fortunately for us, he was no good at either. As they say, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger

-Prohibition ended when the 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933. 69 year-old Jim Beam, alongside his son T. Jeremiah, rebuilt the distillery by hand in just 120 days.

-The first post-Prohibition Jim Beam bourbon was sold in 1934. The flame was reignited. Beam was back in business.

-"Old Tub" changed to "Jim Beam" in 1943 in honor of James B. Beam.

-T. Jeremiah "Jere" Beam, Jim Beam's son, officially took over the family business in 1946.

-Fred Booker Noe II, Jim Beam's grandson, became Master Distiller at the Boston, Kentucky plant in 1960, setting the stage for the sixth Beam family member to head the business

-Bourbon was recognized as America's native spirit by Congress in 1964.

-Frederick Booker Noe III, Jim Beam's great-grandson and seventh-generation master distiller, filled the ten-millionth barrel of Jim Beam® at the Clermont distillery in 2005.

-On August 2, 2007, the US Senate declared September 2007 as "National Bourbon Heritage Month" and Frederick Booker Noe III was added to the Jim Beam bottle label

Bourbon History

-Bourbon history, much like the Beam family bourbon dynasty, mirrors U.S. history. Through rebellion - progress - heroes - facts and legends, it's why bourbon is, and will always be, America's native spirit.

-Over time, America and the world grew to love bourbon as the only major distilled spirit that can trace its roots back to American soil. Thus, in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared bourbon to be "America's native spirit," and in 2007, the U.S. Senate set aside September as National Bourbon Heritage Month.

-All bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon. A strict set of standards from the government regulates what's what. Here are five facts that have to be true to call a whiskey a bourbon:

-Bourbon must be at least 51% corn.

-Bourbon is "America's Native Spirit" because of a 1964 bill that was passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson declaring bourbon "a distinctive product of the United States."

-The only thing that can be added to a bourbon is water. Or else it can't be called a bourbon whiskey.

-By law, bourbon must be aged in new charred oak barrels.

-A bottle can't have the label read "bourbon" if it's not distilled and aged in the United States. It can't be "Kentucky Straight Bourbon" unless it's distilled and aged in Kentucky for at least two years.

For more information on the Jim Beam brand, visit: http://www.jimbeam.com/en-us.

Photo Credit: Fred Booker Noe II poses in front of a billboard on Michigan Ave., Chicago, Courtesy of Jim Beam