Jim Beam Founders
1.) Jacob Beam
2.) James B.”Jim” Beam
3.) Booker Noe
4.) Basil Hayden
5.) David Beam
6.) Dr. James Crow
7.) David M. Beam
8.) Fred Noe
9.) Park Beam
10.) T. Jeremiah Beam
11.) Carl Beam
12.) Baker Beam
13.) Peggy Noe Stevens
14.) Matthew J. Shattock
15.) Freddie Noe
16.) Abraham Overholt
17.) Kathleen DiBenedetto
18.) Jerry Summers
19.) Greg Davis
The beam family has been producing whiskey since 1795 although it was interrupted by Prohibition. Seven generations and direct line descendants and many other family members of founder Jacob Beam have been involved in whiskey production for the company that makes Jim Beam Bourbon. The seven generations and many branches off of the main Beam tree have earned the reputation as "America's First Family of Bourbon."
The eighteen people listed below are all important members of the beam family including eight with the last name Beam and two with the last name Noe who are the decedents of Margaret Beam (Jim’s Daughter). Many others are part of the Beam line of bourbons today because of acquisitions including Basil Hayden, Dr. Samuel Crow, Abraham Overholt and former Executives that helped change the trajectory of the company by their vast contributions.
Jacob Beam
It was in Frederick, Maryland on his Uncle’s plantation in 1766 that Jacob learned how to ferment grapes, apples into hard cider and Rye whiskey. Three years after moving to Kentucky, Jacob began to distill his first whiskey in 1795. The three oldest of Jacob’s sons continued on in the Bourbon trade including David Beam who took over the family business.
“The Namesake”
Jim Beam
Colonel James Beauregard Beam "Jim Beam" was born in Bardstown, Kentucky near the end of the Civil War in 1864. He took over the family business the "Old Tub Distillery" at Hardin’s Creek, Kentucky (later called the Jim Beam Distillery) in 1894 from his father David M. Beam.
"The Virtuoso"
Booker Noe
Frederick Booker Noe was born in December 1929 and passed away in 2004. He introduced Booker’s Bourbon in 1987 and coined the phrase “small batch” to describe his uncut unfiltered bourbon. Master Distiller for over 40 years, Booker was a larger than life character.
Basil Hayden
Hayden led a group of one hundred Catholics from Maryland into what is now Nelson County, Kentucky in 1785. This area, Bardstown is home to many of the famous bourbon brands and is considered "The Bourbon Capital of the World." Hayden actually donated the land for the first Catholic church west of the Allegheny Mountains.
David Beam
Jacob Beam's son David helped his father the most in the whiskey business. David Beam was as smart as a whip and learned from the industrial revolution going on around him. He expanded the distillery from a modest family business into a large sized factory with high production, naming it the: “Old Tub Distillery.”
. "Sour Mash Inventor"
Dr. James Crow
Crow was a Scottish chemist and physician that arrived in the US in 1820 and worked for a couple distilleries until Oscar Pepper made the best move of his career, and probably the bourbon world by hiring Dr. Crow in 1838 to be his master distiller.
David M. Beam
David M. Beam stayed at home instead of going off to college. He over the distilling operation begun by his grandfather. Then in 1860, David M. moved the family distillery from its original site to Nelson County, to take advantage of a new railroad line between Louisville & Nashville where it became the first national brand calling it "Old Tub Bourbon."
Fred Noe
Fred was steeped in whiskey culture early on. He was born in 1954 in Bardstown, Kentucky “the Bourbon Capital of the World,” and grew up in the same house his great grandfather, the legendary Jim Beam, once lived in. Fred, who’s birth name is Frederick Booker Noe III, became the Seventh Generation Beam family to be named Master Distiller in 2007 and regularly travels for promotional purposes.
Park Beam
David M. Beam retired at the age of 59 just before the turn of the century in 1892. Upon his retirement he ceded control of the distillery and operations to his two youngest sons of four, Jim Beam and and Park Beam. Jim and their joint brother-in-law Albert ran the business side of things and Park Beam was the Master Distiller that not only made the bourbon but increased it production four fold in his lifetime.
T. Jeremiah Beam
Jim Beam had two children, a son, T. Jeremiah Beam, and a daughter, Margaret. Jere (pronounced "Jerry") was born in Bardstown in 1899 and went to work in the family distillery, Clear Springs at age 14. Jeremiah eventually gained full ownership of Beam Brands and opened a second distillery near Boston, Kentucky, in 1954.
“Dean of Distillers”
Carl “Shucks” Beam
Carl Beam, nicknamed “Shucks” worked at the rebuilt Jim Beam Distillery right after Prohibition ended, along with uncle Jim and cousin Jere. He went on to become Beam’s Master Distiller. Carl later became the Executive Vice-President of the James B. Beam Distillery Company in 1959 and his nick named changed to “Dean of all Distillers.” He retired in 1974.
Baker Beam
Edward “Baker” Beam worked at both these distilleries himself, and has his own small batch bourbon in the famous Jim Beam “Small Batch Bourbon Collection.” Baker retired at age 81 is an avid fan of high storage in the warehouse for his Baker’s Bourbon. He feels it 7 years is the maximum age when you use high storage. Baker grew up in the “big white house”.
Peggy Noe Stevens
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Matthew Shattock
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Abraham Overholt
In 1810, Henry's son Abraham Overholt (1784–1870) took over management of the distillery and made it into a large business. By the 1820s, the distillery was putting out 15 gallons of rye whiskey per day. Abraham grew the company rapidly; by 1843, Baltimore newspapers were advertising Overholt's "Old Rye"; was the best in the country. At that time, only the very few top distilleries were advertised by name, not the brands.
Freddie Noe
Freddie is a direct descendant of the legendary Jacob Beam who began distilling whiskey back in 1795. Freddie is an 8th Generation Master Distiller with Jim Beam of Beam/Suntory, Inc. Freddie is the son of Fred Noe, Master Distiller at Jim Beam (Beam Suntory) in Clermont, Kentucky and who has become a legend in the history of bourbon while serving at the helm of Jim Beam Distillery for over 40 years now.
Kathleen DiBenedetto
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Jerry Summers
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Greg Davis
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Whiskey Founder
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Whiskey Founder
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