Beam seals 12 millionth bourbon barrel

Fred Noe III seals the milestone barrel of bourbon.

CLERMONT, KY -- Jim Beam Brands reached a huge milestone on October 17, when it filled its 12 millionth barrel of bourbon since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The commemorative white oak barrel bearing the new company logo was filled and sealed at Beam’s flagship distillery here, where it will be aged until 2015.

"After more than 216 years, Beam continues to thrive as the No. 1 bourbon producer in the world," said Frederick "Fred" Booker Noe III, Jim Beam’s great-grandson and seventh generation Beam family distiller.

“This milestone comes at a time when bourbon is growing faster than categories like vodka in the U.S., and reflects the popularity of our brands, innovations and the worldwide growth of America’s native spirit.”

Beam is the fourth largest premium spirits company in the world. Its bourbon portfolio include Jim Beam, Jim Beam Black, Red Stag by Jim Beam, Devil’s Cut, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Baker’s, Booker’s, Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve, Maker’s Mark and Maker’s 46.

Exactly how much is 12 million barrels of bourbon? Noe looked into that and said the amount would:

• Yield nearly 340 million cases of Jim Beam Bourbon.

• Create more than 500 trillion bourbon cocktails.

• Fill 1,060 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

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