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“May there be no hell. And if there is, I'll see you there.” As we raise our glasses to this toast, today feels more like Heaven (for bourbon lovers, that is). Jim Beam's great-grandson Fred Noe has invited us to a lunch and bourbon tasting at his home in Bardstown, Kentucky. After adding some flavor by tossing Booker's Bourbon to the ribs beginning to cook on the fire, a Kentucky bluegrass trio breaks into “Ring of Fire.” 

            "That was my Dad's favorite toast," says Noe. Booker’s was also the signature bourbon of his late father Booker Noe. At nearly 127-proof with between 6 to 8 years of age, it was the first uncut, unfiltered, straight-from-the-barrel bourbons available for retail. Fred Know is the seventh-generation in the family and is the Master Distiller, overseeing the entire bourbon making process. We’ve tasted four Jim Beam Small Batch bourbons tasting the characteristics in each one: Big oak, vanilla, caramel, and roasted notes. 

            Welcome to the Sonoma Valley just in the backyard of our Tri-State region. This could be even better because the proof is much higher and the company makes the mark of Southern hospitality.  

            Fred walks us into his house originally owned Jim Beam on a street called Distiller’s Row. If ever a person encapsulated everything that seems right about Americana, Fred Noe is a character as genuine has the bourbon he makes. 

NOE: Jim Beam moved his family here around 1900 and a Beam family member has been here ever since.

BB: What exactly is this “Bourbon Q” attending today?

NOE: We roll things together here in Kentucky. We taste a little bourbon and have a little barbeque. Dad did it from the very beginning of bourbon festival. It is one of those traditions we are not going to let die. It’s neat to get our friend and family in here.

Your father Booker had such an influence on the Bourbon industry.  How does his spirit live on?

The Booker's Bourbon by far. Dad developed it. He selected the barrels. Every time I make it, I think about Dad. That was his baby and I continue to do it. That is what he liked. I enjoy being the one to carry that tradition on and every bottle that goes out, there is still a little bit of my Dad in it.  

Tell us about the Small Batch Collection.

The reason there is four of them, is because there is different flavors for different palettes.   If you like your lighter bourbons, you got Basil Hayden’s. If you are a single malt scotch enthusiast, I recommend Knob Creek with more age and wood.  Baker's is more like a Cognac. Booker's is for the person that wants experience bourbon the way it used to be.  As I've said, the way it was it was meant to be. 

            With Booker’s, you cut it with water down to the strength you want to drink it. It is one bourbon that you can put on the rocks, and as the rocks melt, the bourbon gets better.  Most bourbons get watered down and loose their flavor. As the rocks melt and you swirl it around on the rocks, it opens up. Then you can getcha an even better taste of it.

You have an incredible line of bourbons and a rich heritage. What are you most proud of?

I'm proud that our family has stuck around this business for 213 years. I'm proud to be the 7th generation Beam family to be in the business and member to carry this tradition on. I want to continue to produce the world's finest bourbon and spread it across the world.  Someday, when my son gets older and we put him to work, we will be very proud to pass the torch to the 8th generation. I'll be done. I will have made my mark. I can sit back on the front porch and sip me a little some Kentucky Tea, which is Booker’s Bourbon and a lot of water.  I will watch the world go by on Distiller’s Row in front of the house. 

Thanks for having BourbonBlog.com and Tripodder.com in.

Come back anytime. Door is always open!

Fred Noe tells us that an ever growing door and experience is open to the public who make the roughly two hour and a half hour journey from the Tri-State to visit the Jim Beam’s Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. We suggest making a stop now at Jim Beam and other distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. However, a multi-million dollar development project is now underway to create a new Welcome Center complex at Jim Beam called the “Visitor’s Experience.” It is expected to be completed in April 2011.