Jim Beam makes history with 13 millionth Bourbon barrel

Jim Beam Bourbon made history yesterday by filling its 13 millionth barrel of Bourbon since the repeal of the Prohibition in 1933 – a Bourbon-industry first.

Jim Beam Bourbon made Bourbon-industry history by filling its 13 millionth barrel of Bourbon

Fred Noe, Jim Beam’s great-grandson and seventh generation master distiller, was given the honour of filling the barrel at the company’s distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

He was joined by Freddie Noe, an eighth generation Beam who also works at the distillery.

“I guess in this case, 13 is a lucky number,” commented Noe. “As a family, we’re proud of this milestone. It speaks loudly and proudly to our longevity and history, and bolsters our position as the world’s largest producer of Bourbon. We’ve been making Bourbon a long time and we’ve made a lot of it.”

The new record comes just three years after the brand filled its 12 millionth barrel as Beam continues to expand its operations in Kentucky to meet increased production demands while remaining “true to the brand’s heritage and authenticity”.

Domestic sales of Bourbon have increased by 40% in the last five years and exports have exceeded the US$1 billion mark.

“This recent success is a testament to the craft and heritage of ‘America’s Native Spirit’,” said Noe, who has worked at the Beam distillery for more than 30 years.

“Globally, Bourbon is in huge demand, and we’re producing it at a faster rate than ever before. We expect even less time to pass between now and the 14 millionth barrel fill than the three short years it took us to hit 13 million after 12 million.”

Bourbon fans who come to tour the Jim Beam American Stillhouse will have the chance to see the 13 millionth barrel, which will be aged inside the distillery’s rackhouse D, a nine-story rackhouse rebuilt by Jim Beam and his son, T. Jeremiah, after Prohibition on the distillery grounds.

According to Noe, 13 million barrels of Bourbon would yield more than 285 million cases of Jim Beam Bourbon, fill more than 3 billion bottles of Jim Beam Bourbon, create more than 56 billion Bourbon cocktails (enough for everyone in the world to have one Jim Beam cocktail every day for seven days), stretch from the US to China via the Pacific Ocean when stacked end to end and reach the top of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, 14,000 times when stacked end to end.