Ya think there’s a Bourbon boom? Just two short years after the Jim Beam Distillery filled its 13 Millionth barrel of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the distillery just bunged its 14 Millionth barrel of Bourbon since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The historic moment was marked when Seventh generation Master Distiller Fred Noe along with Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin filled and bunged the new charred white oak barrel you see below.
Master Distiller Fred Noe and Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin
Filling and bunging the 14 Millionth barrel.
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“History is what you make it,” said Noe. “And, here at Jim Beam, we’re proud to make it one barrel at a time. This milestone is cause for celebration both for our employees and bourbon fans around the globe. Fourteen million is a big number, and it says a lot about the success of our whiskey and the growing passion for bourbon around the world.”
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“Kentucky bourbon has become not only an American icon, but an international symbol of our proud heritage and craftsmanship,” said Governor Bevin. “I’m pleased to toast Jim Beam’s impressive milestone, rich history and spirited future.”
14 Millionth Barrel – A Bourbon Industry First
The cover image is Fred Noe on the right and his son Freddie Noe on the left.
The 14 millionth barrel will join the nearly two million barrels of bourbon currently aging in Jim Beam’s rackhouses across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It will be stored inside the distillery’s historic rackhouse D, a traditional nine-story warehouse re-built by Jim Beam after Prohibition on the Clermont distillery grounds. The rackhouse is open to visitors as part of the Jim Beam® American Stillhouse tour.
“When Jacob Beam, Jim Beam’s great, great grandfather, filled his first barrel of bourbon in 1795, he had no real idea of what he was starting,” said Noe, who has been on hand for the previous six “million barrel” milestones, starting at the filling of the 8 millionth barrel in 1998. “All he wanted to do was make the best bourbon possible. The growth of this company reflects that dedication. For more than 220 years, we’ve made every barrel count.”
Beam has continued to expand its operations in Kentucky, fueled by a commitment to innovate and meet surging global consumer demand. Over the next five years, Beam Suntory plans to invest more than $1 billion to make bourbon in Kentucky.
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