CLERMONT, Ky. — With a fewswings of a long mallet, Jim Beam’s great-grandson sealed a white oak barrelMonday that represented the brand’s 10 millionth barrel of bourbon since theend of Prohibition.
But anyone wanting a sip willhave to wait.
The special barrel, enough forhundreds of bottles, was taken to a warehouse so the bourbon can age at leastfour years to develop its distinctive color and taste.
“We’re going to put this babyaway to age a few years and then we’ll pull it out and see what it tasteslike,” Beam descendant Fred Noe told a crowd gathered under a tent outside theJim Beam distillery here.
It marked another milestone forthe whiskey-making Beam family, which sold its first batch in Kentucky in 1795when family patriarch Jacob Beam set up a still not far from here.
“The Beam family has been makingwhiskey since a different George was president,” said Jim Beam Brands WorldwideInc. President and CEO Tom Flocco, who wielded another mallet to seal thecommemorative barrel.
The morning event was too earlyfor a toast, even in the heart of bourbon country, but guests were presentedspecial bottles of Jim Beam bourbon to mark the occasion.
The 10 million barrels ofbourbon produced since the repeal of Prohibition equal 3.25 billion bottles,enough for 73 billion drinks. For a spirit to be called bourbon, it must bemade from a mash mixture of at least 51 percent corn and aged a minimum of twoyears in a new, charred oak container.
Jim Beam fills, on average, 700barrels of bourbon a day. Flocco said reaching the milestone was a testament togenerations of Beam workers.
One of them, Ruby Smith, isretiring this spring after 47 1/2 years at Beam. She’s had a hand in producinga few million of those barrels.
“I like doing my job,” she said.”We try to make every barrel perfect. It’s working together as a team.”
Bourbon has ridden a resurgencein recent years, as the whiskey became popular in big-city bars and overseasdrinkers acquired a taste for it.
