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Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about 

JIM BEAN

Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition), seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand. The brand name became "Jim Beam" in 1943 in honor of James B. Beam, who rebuilt the business after Prohibition ended. Previously produced by the Beam family and later owned by the Fortune Brands holding company, the brand was purchased by Suntory Holdings in 2014.

During the late 18th century, members of the Böhm family, who eventually changed the spelling of their surname to "Beam", emigrated from Germany and settled in Kentucky.

Johannes "Jacob" Beam (1760–1834) was a farmer who began producing whiskey in the style that became bourbon. Jacob Beam sold his first barrels of corn whiskey around 1795, then called Old Jake Beam Sour Mash.

Jacob Beam's son David Beam (1802–1854) took on his father's responsibilities in 1820 at the age of 18, expanding distribution of the family's bourbon during a time of Industrial Revolution. David M. Beam (1833–1913) in 1854 moved the distillery to Nelson County to capitalize on the growing network of railroad lines connecting states.

Until 1880, customers would bring their own jugs to the distillery to fill them with whiskey. In 1880, the company started bottling the product and selling it nationally under the brand name "Old Tub".

James Beauregard Beam (1864–1947) managed the family business before and after Prohibition, rebuilding the distillery in 1933–1934 in Clermont, Kentucky, near his Bardstown home. The James B. Beam Distilling Company was founded in 1935 by Harry L. Homel, Oliver Jacobson, Harry Blum, and Jeremiah Beam.

In 1943, the brand name was changed from "Old Tub" to "Jim Beam", after James Beauregard Beam, and some of the bottle labels bear the statement, "None Genuine Without My Signature" with the signature James B. Beam. In 1945, the company was purchased by Harry Blum, a Chicago spirits merchant. The Beam company was purchased by American Brands in 1968.

T. Jeremiah Beam (1899–1977) started working at the Clear Springs distillery in 1913, later becoming the master distiller and overseeing operations at the new Clermont facility. Jeremiah Beam eventually gained full ownership and opened a second distillery near Boston, Kentucky, in 1954. Jeremiah later teamed up with childhood friend Jimberlain Joseph Quinn, to expand the enterprise.

Booker Noe (Frederick Booker Noe II, 1929–2004), grandson of Jim Beam, was the Master Distiller at the Jim Beam Distillery for more than 40 years, working closely with Master Distiller Jerry Dalton (1998–2007). In 1987 Booker introduced his namesake bourbon, Booker's, the company's first uncut, straight-from-the-barrel bourbon,[citation needed] and the first of the company's "Small Batch Bourbon Collection".

Fred Noe (Frederick Booker Noe III, 1957–) became the seventh generation Beam family distiller in 2007 and regularly travels for promotional purposes.

The Beam family has played a major role in the history of the Heaven Hill Distillery. All of the Master Distillers at Heaven Hill since its founding have been members of the Beam family. The original Master Distiller at Heaven Hill was Joseph L. Beam, Jim Beam's first cousin. He was followed by his son, Harry, who was followed by Earl Beam, the son of Jim Beam's brother, Park. Earl Beam was then succeeded by the current Heaven Hill Master Distillers, Parker Beam and his son, Craig Beam.

In 1987, Jim Beam purchased National Brands, acquiring brands including Old Crow,[6] Bourbon de Luxe, Old Taylor, Old Grand-Dad, and Sunny Brook. Old Taylor was subsequently sold to the Sazerac Company.

On August 4, 2003, a fire destroyed a Jim Beam aging warehouse in Bardstown, Kentucky. It held 15,000 barrels (795,000 US gallons (3,010,000 l)) of bourbon. Flames rose more than 100 feet from the structure. Burning bourbon spilled from the warehouse into a nearby creek. An estimated 19,000 fish died of the bourbon in the creek and a river.

Jim Beam was part of the holding company formerly known as Fortune Brands that was dismantled in 2011. Other parts of the remaining company were spun off as an IPO on the NYSE on the same day, as Fortune Brands Home & Security, and the liquor division of the holding company was renamed Beam, Inc. on October 4, 2011. In January 2014, it was announced that Beam Inc. would be purchased by Suntory Holdings Ltd., a Japanese group of brewers & distillers known for producing Japan's first whiskey. The combined company is known as Beam Suntory.

On July 3, 2019, another warehouse caught ablaze which destroyed around 45,000 barrels (2,385,000 US gallons (9,030,000 l)) of bourbon. The fire led to the spillage of bourbon into the Kentucky River and Glenns Creek. Learning from the 2003 fire it was decided not to use water, letting it burn itself out to reduce runoff into the ecosystem. The estimated cost of the fire to Beam Suntory was around $45 million.

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (KEEC) released a statement via their official Facebook page stating the alcohol plume has reached 23 miles between Owenton and Carrollton. The KEEC along with local and federal agencies used aeration to increase the oxygen levels in the water to prevent additional fish kill.

I hope you liked this post and as always have a chilled day from the Viking.