Beam Suntory has filled its 15-millionth Jim Beam barrel since Prohibition ended, with the final million poured in just the past two years.
Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe, right, and his son Freddie show off the 15-millionth barrel
The company said this week it was the first Bourbon maker to hit the milestone and that, in a sign of growing demand for Bourbon, poured its most recent million in the shortest time in Jim Beam's history. Momentum was down to performance in the US, Europe and Southeast Asia, Beam Suntory added.
"We're reaching these milestones faster and faster," said Craig Christenson, vice president of global marketing for Jim Beam. "From Russia and Germany to Japan and China - not to mention the United States where Jim Beam is gaining substantial market share, Bourbon has become the spirit of choice around the world."
Beam Suntory has nearly 2.3m barrels of Bourbon ageing in Jim Beam's rackhouses across the so-called Commonwealth states, which comprise Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
"In other companies, it would have taken us three years to do what we have done in past six months" - just-drinks meets Stoli Group CEO Hugues Pietrini
Sectors: Spirits
Companies: Beam Suntory Inc, Suntory
