Product facts

Facts that are worth knowing about an incomparable Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• We’ve put together a few of the most interesting and entertaining facts about JIM BEAM and bourbon whiskey for you to enjoy on this page.
• In 1964, the US Congress declared bourbon as a “characteristic product of the United States” and recognized it as “America’s Native Spirit”.
• According to American law, a bourbon whiskey must be made from at least 51% corn. Furthermore, it has to mature in new, charred barrels made from American white oak. And of course a real bourbon whiskey has to come from the US – more specifically, from Bourbon County in Kentucky.
• For years, bourbon has been the favorite drink of many celebrities, including the American presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, author Mark Twain, and actor Sean Connery.
• JIM BEAM has been around since the time of George Washington, who also used to distill whiskey. Since then, the American constitution has been changed 27 times, but the recipe for JIM BEAM has remained exactly the same.
• After Prohibition (1920–1932), JIM BEAM rebuilt the family distillery with his own hands in just 120 days – at the grand old age of 70.
• Since the end of Prohibition, more than ten million barrels of JIM BEAM bourbon have been produced.
• JIM BEAM is the only American whiskey that has been distilled and sold by the same family for seven generations.
• While a whiskey is maturing in storage, part of the liquid evaporates. The amount that is missing at the end is called the “angels’ share” – because the angels keep it for themselves to enjoy.
• Every barrel of JIM BEAM bourbon spends at least four years in our storehouses. Afterwards, the barrels are rolled out by hand and Fred Noe, the great-grandson of JIM BEAM, inspects each and every one. Just like every generation before him has done.