James B. Beam Distilling Co.

Squire Murphy and A. M. Barber ran the distillery here as partners, under the name Murphy, Barber & Company.^3,4,5 Murphy died in August 1893, and Barber kept the plant running until September 1896.⁵ After Barber also died, a receiver looked after the idle plant for 43 months.⁵ Jim Beam bought the closed distillery in 1920, as Prohibition began.^3,4

The James B. Beam Distilling Co. was formed in 1933, after Prohibition was repealed.^9,10,11 Jim Beam cultivated a new yeast strain to replace the one lost during Prohibition, and the company still uses it.^9,10,11 The Blum family of Chicago paid for the new plant and owned it, and by the 1970s it was the largest American producer of sour-mash bourbon.^1,2,3 Jim Beam retired in 1944, and his nephew Carl joined his son T. Jeremiah Beam in running the plant.^2,6,9

In 1949 the company moved its offices to Chicago, while distilling stayed at Clermont.⁹ By 1954 it had added a second distillery, near Boston, Kentucky, later named after Booker Noe.^6,9 Booker Noe, Jim Beam's grandson, became Beam's master distiller in 1960 and held the post for four decades.^2,9 In 1967 the American Tobacco Co., later called American Brands, bought the company.^2,6,9