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Tracing the Kentucky bourbon family tree is a lot like looking up the bloodlines of Kentucky Derby winners: you’ll encounter the same names time and again. Many families have worked in the distilling business for generations, partly because people born in Kentucky rarely leave, and the few who do usually have the good sense to come back.

One especially legendary name, of course, is Beam. Beams have been making whiskey in Kentucky ever since German immigrant Jacob Beam sold his first barrel in 1795. Seven subsequent generations have led what is today the Jim Beam Distillery. But Beams have also worked for just about every other major distillery in the state, and two descendants are currently reviving their branch’s dormant legacy at a craft distillery they opened in 2011.

A bronze statue of Booker Noe, longtime Master Distiller at Jim Beam, keeps watch at the distillery. (Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association)

But first let’s talk about the Jim Beam Distillery. Jacob Beam’s son, David, eventually succeeded his father and expanded distribution. Three of David’s four sons also worked in whiskey, but only one, David M. Beam, joined his father at the family company. During David M.’s tenure, he moved the distillery from Washington County to Nelson County to be closer to the railroad. David M. also had four sons, two of whom followed him into the company: James Beauregard “Jim” Beam (the famous one) and Park Beam.

The Beam distillery, like so many others, closed during Prohibition. After Repeal, Jim Beam rebuilt it in Clermont, Kentucky, its present location, as the Jim Beam Company. He had two children, T. Jeremiah and Margaret. Under T. Jeremiah’s watch, the company opened a second distilling plant in 1954 near Boston, Kentucky. But because he had no children, it was his sister’s son, Booker Noe, who became the sixth-generation distiller. He was initially Master Distiller at the Boston plant (now known as the Booker Noe plant), and eventually became a larger-than-life ambassador for the company. His son, Fred Noe, is the current Jim Beam Master Distiller. On May 2, 2016, Fred and his son, Freddie, the eighth generation of this bourbon-making family, filled the 14 millionth barrel of Jim Beam bourbon.

Heaven Hill Master Distillers Craig and the late Parker Beam (Photo courtesy of Heaven Hill)

Now that you’ve wrapped your head around Noes distilling at Jim Beam, let’s talk about the Beams distilling at Heaven Hill. David Beam’s oldest son, Joseph M. Beam, had 14 children. One of them, Joseph L. “Joe” Beam, helped found the Heaven Hill distillery in Bardstown after Prohibition. Joe’s son Harry Beam was Heaven Hill’s first distiller; he was succeeded by Park Beam’s son Earl, who left the Jim Beam Distillery for the job. Earl was followed by his son, Parker Beam (namesake of the distillery’s annual Parker’s Heritage Collection); Parker and his son, Craig, were co–Master Distillers until Parker stepped down in 2012. (Parker passed away after a long battle with ALS in January 2017.) Craig Beam is now co–Master Distiller with Denny Potter. (Speaking of families, Heaven Hill is the largest independent family-owned and -operated producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the United States, having been owned by the Shapira family from the start.) Joe Beam and his other sons also worked at various times for Four Roses and for Maker’s Mark.

Paul (left) and Stephen Beam of Limestone Branch Distillery (Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association)

Joseph M. Beam’s oldest son, Minor Case Beam, owned a distillery in Nelson County in the early 1900s but sold it in 1910. He, his son, Guy, and his grandson Jack all worked at distilleries before and after Prohibition, but no one in that branch actually owned a distillery again until 2011, when Minor Beam’s great-grandsons, Stephen and Paul Beam, opened Limestone Branch in Lebanon, Kentucky. There, they honored the distilling heritage not only of their father’s family but also of their mother’s, the Dants, by resurrecting that family’s most famous brand, Yellowstone Bourbon.

Finally, David Beam’s youngest son, John “Jack” Beam, founded a distillery in Bardstown called Early Times. His son, Edward, was supposed to succeed him as distiller, but both men died in 1915. Brown-Forman eventually bought the brand name, and Early Times is still sold today.

In 2011, Rob Samuels became the eighth generation to lead his storied bourbon family when he took over as chief executive of Maker’s Mark. The Samuels family has been in the whiskey business since 1840. Rob’s grandparents, Bill and Margie Samuels, developed Maker’s Mark, a smooth, sweet wheated bourbon, in the 1950s, and his father, Bill Samuels Jr., made the bourbon an international sensation through clever marketing.

Another father-and-son team has been making fine Kentucky bourbon for decades at Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Master Distiller Jimmy Russell has worked at Wild Turkey for just over 60 years and has the longest tenure of any Master Distiller in the industry. His son, co–Master Distiller Eddie Russell, has been with Wild Turkey for “only” 35 years and jokingly introduces himself as “the new guy.” Eddie’s son Bruce entered the family business in 2015 as a brand ambassador for Russell’s Reserve.

For members of these distilling dynasties, whiskey runs through the blood. They’re not just making Kentucky bourbon. They’re making Kentucky history.

Master Distillers Eddie (left) and Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey (Photo courtesy of Wild Turkey)