Daniel David Beam, 1941-2015I just happened upon this happy picture. It’s from 2014, I think. That smile belongs to David Beam, the last Beam distiller at Jim Beam. (The last one with the last name of Beam, that is.) The picture was taken at Tom’…
My first office in Louisville was on the top floor, left side. Right across the street was my favorite lunch place. Both are still there.My recent post about Five Brothers Bourbon and the early history of the Heaven Hill Company brought to mind m…
Heaven Hill was named after the farmer, William Heavenhill, who originally owned the land where the distillery was built. The company’s founder and first distiller was a member of the famous Beam family, Joe Beam. Joe’s first cousin, Jim Beam, had…
Barry Maurice Berish, 1932-2024Barry Berish died last week. He was 91.Berish worked for 40 years, 1957-1997, at Jim Beam Brands, rising to the position of Chief Executive Officer in 1982. Under his leadership, Beam went from a one-brand company to the …
Julian P. Van Winkle Jr. (bottom, right) and his tank crew, on their way to liberate the Philippines, October 1944 (from But Always Fine Bourbon).As we reported in the most recent issue of The Bourbon Country Reader, very little whiskey was distil…
The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and Park Street today presented highlights from the 2023 Craft Spirits Data Project (CSDP) at its annual economic briefing. Introduced in 2016, the Craft Spirits Data Project evaluates performance and…
A 42-inch diameter column still at Diageo’s Bullit Distillery.The previous post was long and covered a lot. Here I want to give more attention to the “Size Matters” story in the new issue of The Bourbon Country Reader, my old-school, paper-i…
An anti-hoarding, pro-rationing poster for the United States during World War II.The rationing poster above refers to an article in the new issue of The Bourbon Country Reader, which subscribers will receive shortly, but I wanted to start with a …
I haven’t posted much recently. If you miss it, now is the time to tell me.
The “updated” Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame® award.I was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame (KBHOF) in 2009. It’s a nice honor. It came with a replica copper still, with my name on it, and a personalised lapel pin. That’s pretty…
