Legends Series: Fred Booker Noe III - Master Distiller of Jim Beam

Legends Series: Fred Booker Noe III - Master Distiller of Jim Beam

Hosted by the Museum's Bourbon Authority, Fred Minnick, in the Great Hall at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

The Legends Series is an ongoing celebration of the culture, people and history of bourbon. Don’t miss your chance to see this Legend in person and experience special tastings, appetizers and a Q&A discussion between Fred Booker Noe III and Minnick.

The 2017 Legends Series consists of three events. Click here to learn more about the series. Fred Booker Noe III, Master Distiller of Jim Beam, is the first event on January 27.

Frederick “Fred” Booker Noe III, son of the late Frederick “Booker” Noe Jr. and great grandson of Jim Beam, is a seventh generation distiller and keeper of a family flame that has burned for more than 200 years. Fred is Beam’s Master Distiller, sharing the craft of whiskey making and the rich history of his family’s legacy with bourbon enthusiasts worldwide. 

Fred also serves as Ambassador of The Small Batch Bourbon Collection® — Basil Hayden’s®, Knob Creek®, Baker’s® and Booker’s® — his father Booker’s whiskies. He played an important role in the development and promotion of these ultra-premium bourbons, which are aged longer, feature higher proofs -- representative of pre-prohibition whiskey. When these bourbons were first introduced, he would taste samples at the family’s kitchen table and help select the batches that were ready for bottling. 

Fred was steeped in whiskey culture early on. He was born in Bardstown, KY the Bourbon Capital of the World, and grew up in the same house his great grandfather, the legendary Jim Beam, once lived in. He learned to appreciate and understand the craft of whiskey making while listening to his father’s stories about their family. After graduating from Bellarmine University, Fred worked under his father’s tutelage, learning every aspect of the bourbon-making process, including grain selection, fermentation and distillation.   

In 2007, Beam Inc. honored Fred on by placing his portrait on the Jim Beam Bourbon brand label alongside the six family distillers who preceded him in the family business — Jacob, David, David M., Jim, Jeremiah and Booker.

Today, Fred still resides in Bardstown in a house built adjacent to the Beam family home. He remains instrumental in the Beam business, dedicating himself to perfecting the family’s closely guarded bourbon-making process and continuing his family’s legacy by training his son, Fred Noe, to become the 8th generation family distiller.

For more information:

  • For information about future Legends Series events, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Learn more about Fred Booker Noe III and Jim Beam at www.jimbeam.com.
  • Learn more about Fred Minnick, Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author.