Uncovering the Long & Inspiring Family Legacies of American Whiskey
Editor’s note: What better way to kick off Bourbon Heritage Month than quite literally a story about family heritage in the world of American Whiskey? Thanks to contributor Robert Haynes-Peterson for sharing the stories of so many impressive families just in time for Grandparents Day September 12, 2021.
There was a time, not long ago, when almost all American whiskey was produced in a handful of Southern states, and it was almost all called bourbon, rye, or Tennessee whiskey. Of course, that’s changed, and the whiskey landscape is broad and diverse, occupying all 50 states. What hasn’t changed is the strong family ties often linked to whiskey production, distribution, ownership, and innovation.
Many bourbon fans are aware of this phenomenon as it relates to prominent brands: Wild Turkey, Maker’s Mark, Pappy. On the one hand, these lineages make sense: whiskey is, at its heart, an agricultural product, and agriculture is an industry where parents pass down their heritage and experience to their kids. In addition, many distilleries were located in small communities, and, like the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, were often the largest employers in the area.
But there’s something else about whiskey making that draws children to the business. Even when they’ve tried their hand at other trades, or there’s a gap in the family tree, the magic of some sort in that spirited amber liquid transcends the generations.
Honoring the Past
“I’m a big believer of looking to the past and looking to the future to continue pushing the envelope,” says Chris Fletcher, who was appointed the eighth master distiller for Jack Daniel’s in October 2020. Fletcher grew up on the grounds of the distillery because his grandfather, Frank Bobo, was the fifth master distiller from 1966 to 1989. “People may not remember, but we couldn’t make enough of the Old No. 7 (Jack Daniel’s core product), it was so popular. It was allocated from right after Prohibition (1933) to the early 1980s.” Fletcher says his grandfather was all about keeping the legacy of founder Jack Daniel. “He would go in every day and follow that recipe to the letter. He said, ‘You do not change it!”
Fletcher spent six years as an assistant master distiller before taking the helm. While he naturally honors the legacy of Old No. 7, he’s also been insistent that the brand explore boundaries. “Because of the interest in American whiskey now, we have the capabilities to make and push so many envelopes. We’re going to look at every detail from grain to glass.” Already the brand’s single barrel releases have been a big hit (the 2020 expression, a Barrel Proof Rye comes in at a whopping 130.8 proof and yet is complex and full of flavor), as are the experimental Tennessee Tasters available at the distillery. “We’ve brought in pimento wood from Jamaica and done an insert there. We’ve done reunion projects, finishing our whiskey with barrels that aged beer or wine.” And this summer a new brand extension comes on line to big fanfare.
Fletcher isn’t the only one with family ties to Jack Daniel’s. Lexie Phillips, announced as the brand’s first woman assistant distiller, boasts over a dozen family members who have worked at the distillery. More significantly, Victoria Butler, who came on board in 2019 as the master blender for the new label Uncle Nearest, is the great-great-granddaughter of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first master distiller at Jack Daniel’s, who grew up enslaved, and is credited with teaching Daniel whiskey making.
“I have always known that my great-great-grandfather taught Jack Daniel to distill,” says Butler. “But I did not know the extent of his contribution to the spirits industry until our CEO and founder, Fawn Weaver uncovered much more and shared what she found with my family, including that Nearest is the first African-American master distiller on record.”
Weaver launched Uncle Nearest in 2017, in tribute to Green’s legacy (three of his sons also worked at Jack Daniel’s over the years), sourcing and blending whiskey in Tennessee. The three core expressions—1820, 1856, and 1884—mark significant years in Green’s life. This year, the brand unveiled Phase 2 of its new distillery and recently launched a diversity/equity initiative funding a small black-owned spirits brand. It also released a special Master Blend Edition crafted by Butler. At 111.02% ABV, the new expression is a flavorful, rich dram with notes of stewed fruit and vanilla.
“I’m still in awe of the rich legacy that my great-great-grandfather carved out,” says Butler. “ Especially given that, when he started distilling, he was not a free man. In spite of the challenges that surely came with being enslaved, Nearest Green was a creative man who crafted some of the best whiskey around. I am extremely proud of my heritage and grateful to continue what my great-great-grandfather started.”
The Kentucky Legacy
For bourbon fans, it’s a thrill to meet the people behind the whiskey, which often involves a family member intrinsic to its history. Julian P. Van Winkle III (of Pappy Van Winkle fame), for example, represents the fourth generation of Van Winkles in whiskey making. He’s been at the helm while the cult-favorite skyrocketed in price on the allocation and secondary markets. Meanwhile, Bill Samuels Jr. is only too happy to share the family lore about the creation of Maker’s Mark, arguably the precursor of today’s “craft” whiskeys. His father, Bill Samuels Sr., launched the innovative rye-free product in 1954 based (according to the company) on an old family recipe, and Samuels Jr. credits his mother with the signature red wax seal around the closure. While there are those who will nitpick over historic accuracy (former Maker’s Mark master distiller, the late Dave Pickerell, once told me that it was Van Winkle Sr. who shared the recipe with Samuels Sr., and that a St Louis firm designed the wax closure), it’s nevertheless thrilling to be in the presence of Samuel’s enthusiasm for his family’s legacy. Besides, history is often a flexible concept when it comes to a whiskey’s development.
Even more impactful (in terms of legacy) are the Russells at Wild Turkey and the Noes at Jim Beam. Jimmy Russell hit 65 years of working for Wild Turkey back in 2019, while the “younger” Eddie recently passed his 40-year anniversary. Meanwhile, Bruce Russell and Jimmy’s granddaughter Joan Street are both ambassadors for the brand. Between the two of them, they’ve launched dozens of expressions, special editions and more, while still staying true to Wild Turkey’s core whiskies (the brand has also released several special releases commemorating Jimmy Russell’s anniversaries, and the legacy the father-son team has created).
“Jimmy is about being genuine and upfront about doing things the right way,” Eddie told me in 2016 before the release of Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades, created to celebrate his 35th anniversary with the company. But Eddie notes that the world of whiskey has changed dramatically from where it was when he started. “We’ve got such a great product, but there’s room for the small stuff: higher proof, non-chill filtered, different finishes. It’s still sort of traditional, but different from what Jimmy was looking to do. Jimmy doesn’t like whiskey much over 12 or 13 years old, but I’ve been doing some older stuff.” The gentle tug-of-war between father and son (Jimmy likes his whiskey neat and at room temperature, Eddie likes his with a chunk of ice) is part of the charm that keeps this team going.
Fred and Freddie Noe With Booker Noe Jim Beam.
For Fred and Freddie Noe, their connection with Jim Beam goes all the way back to the beginnings of the brand. Fred Noe is the 7th generation master distiller for the brand. His father, Booker Noe was the sixth master distiller for 40 years, and a larger-than-life figure in the world of Kentucky bourbon. Booker was also James Beam’s grandson. Following Prohibition, Beam revived the family whiskey business that began with Jacob Beam back in the 1790s, changing the brand from Old Tub to Jim Beam on bottles starting in 1943. In addition to the Jim Beam family of expressions, Booker launched “Booker’s Bourbon,” a small-batch, barrel strength series of releases starting in 1987, that Fred Noe continues releasing several times each year. Already this year, two new Booker’s expressions—Tagalong Batch and Donohoe’s Batch (honoring a retired employee and family friend) are on store shelves. Fred’s son Freddie joined the distillery in 2013 and launched his own series of whiskey expressions under the Little Book label in 2017. This year Jim Beam also launched a new Fred B. Noe Distillery on August 31, 2021, named in honor of Noe that will be led by his son, Freddie Noe.
For each of them, this family legacy is part and parcel of who they are. You can’t drink with either of them without hearing tales and callbacks to their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. “I grew up following my dad around the distillery and I loved it,” says Fred Noe. “More often than not, he was teaching me things about the industry and I didn’t even realize it.” He says that though there were early discussions about joining the family business, Booker insisted he finish college and “don’t always bank on this being here.”
Freddie says he never felt any pressure to join the family business, but whiskey was in his blood. “I thought about other careers and, to be honest, i didn’t give much thought to joining Dad at the distillery until after my Grandaddy’s funeral when I met many of his friends and heard the stories about their time working with him. The more time I spent at the distillery, the more I realized it was where I belonged.”
Both also see their family business as one that has paid dividends. “My dad passed down lessons not just about bourbon, but about life,” says Freddie. “The constants in everything he taught me were honesty, integrity, and patience. In fact, this was the inspiration behind the name for my fourth Little Book Chapter called Lessons Honored. Being true to yourself and your craft is something that’s very important in our family, and it’s reflected in the whiskey we make.” Fred echoes these lessons. “There were three things my dad always told me: Tell the truth, be yourself and treat people like you want to be treated.”
What’s Next?
Today, American whiskey is produced in all 50 states, with many more opportunities for family legacies to renew, rebuild or emerge. While the days of an 8-year-old hanging around fermentation tanks may be long gone, it doesn’t mean the next generation can’t be brought into the fold at an early age.
Andy and Charles Nelson Green Brier
“We learned, in 2006, that our family was involved in what was in its day the largest distillery in Tennessee,” recalls Andy Nelson of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery. The distillery sources and produces several spirits (including Belle Meade Bourbon), and launched its own Tennessee-style whiskey right before the pandemic. But Andy and his brother Charles knew little about their family’s whiskey heritage, apart from some tales their dad would tell, until they were out of college. “We, our mom and dad went to buy a full cow’s worth of meat from a butcher in Green Brier, a town we’d never been to before. We stop at a gas station, and there’s a historical marker for Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery.” It turned out Dad’s stories were real, and their great-great-great-grandfather Charles Nelson (and later his widow) produced whiskey from the 1880s until Tennessee passed its own prohibition in 1909. “We realized from then on that this is what we’re here to do.” By 2012, they released the first bottles of Belle Meade, and by 2017 had their first in-house whiskey, First 108 distilled at the new Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, about 25 miles south of the original. Based on the first Charles’s original grain receipts, they learned his whiskey was a wheated whiskey (uncommon in those days). “Finding out this recipe was wheated meant we didn’t have to tweak anything to get what we wanted.”
Kyle Lincoln and Wes Henderson Angels Envy
Sometimes it can take a while to get the family business up and running. While the late Lincoln Henderson had decades as a master distiller under his belt at Brown-Forman—creating iconic whiskeys like Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack—it wasn’t until 2011 when he launched his own label— Angel’s Envy —with his son Wes. “I retired from Brown-Forman in 2004,” Henderson told me back in 2011. “The day I retired, I started working for their U.S. spokesperson for single malt whiskey. Then I started working for my son.” Henderson said he wanted to experiment with bourbon finishes and yeasts more than the big companies were comfortable doing at the time. “The challenge with the bourbon people was that it was like pulling teeth to go outside the bourbon bar.” He and Wes played with every kind of finish from ex-tequila to ex-cognac (“that doesn’t fit very well with bourbon”) before debuting the groundbreaking port cask-finished product that is now a mainstay for aficionados. After Lincoln’s passing, Wes and his four sons have carried on their father’s legacy. Most recently, the brand released a limited-edition madeira cask-finished whiskey in seven states for Father’s Day. “This release, like all of Angel’s Envy whiskeys, was a family effort,” said Wes Henderson in a press release. “So it feels only right to share this bourbon with our fans in celebration of Father’s Day.”
For Kaveh Zamanian, the CEO and founder of Louisville-based Rabbit Hole Distillery the entrepreneurial spirit instilled by his father and grandfather infuses his whiskey making, even if they weren’t in the industry. “My grandfather was one of the first people who imported tobacco into Iran. He had a cigarette brand and cigars in a country where that wasn’t an easy thing to do. His experience as a businessman is part of my DNA.” Zamanian, a practicing Chicago psychiatrist for 18 years, met his wife, a 4th generation Louisville resident “and that was my entrée into American whiskey.” When they set up shop in Louisville, he was drawn to making whiskey, but had to consider the challenges of starting over in a new industry, with three kids. “My family emigrated to the U.S. when I was 14,” he recalls. “My father went from the chief of urology at a well-known hospital in Iran, to doing work as a nurse’s aide, starting over and working his way back up to a certified physician here. Seeing his humility and hard work was eye-opening for me, and it gave me a lot of courage and strength to believe this is possible.” As a result, the brand began with its own 55,000-square-foot distillery/campus and a range of spirits including three core straight bourbons and one straight rye. More recently, the brand launched its high-end experimental Founders Collection, including Boxergrail Kentucky Straight Rye featuring the earliest batches to come off the Rabbit Hole stills, and the more recent Rabbit Hole Mizunara, a 15-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon from Zamanian’s personal collection, finished for a year in Japanese Mizunara oak. “It was a risk for me to take some of the oldest bourbons in my collection, and finish it in Mizunara casks,” he says. “Mizunara is a different animal. We didn’t have a standard we were trying to match. I could not be more pleased with the results.”
Will Zamanian’s own kids be inspired to join the family business? “Certainly, that’s my hope,” he says. Our son was seven when I started making whiskey. The girls don’t even remember me as a psychiatrist. It’s one of the things I love about the industry: there’s an element of rootedness in the community.” At almost 17 years old, Zamanian’s son Henry is already helping where he’s allowed around the distillery.
Experimentation isn’t just for the new kids on the block. When it comes to long-time producers, the next generation also means an opportunity for a brand to branch out. “There’s a new freedom in bourbon production,” Fred Noe told me a few years ago when the Jim Beam Signature expressions were launched. “A lot of that comes from the late 80s and early 90s when people like my dad, Jimmy Russell, and Elmer T. Lee started experimenting with premium bourbons and demonstrated that bourbon drinkers wanted to try new things. Now, bourbon drinkers are more open-minded, and you’ve got young guys who’ve grown up in the business and are carrying on the family tradition. The future looks great for creative thinking.”
Jimmy Eddie and Bruce Russell Wild Turkey
For Eddie Russell, that creative thinking is directly applied in his ongoing Russell’s Reserve series of expressions. “For something like Russell’s 1998 or 2002 (both very small batch releases), we actually taste every single barrel, blend them together, taste them and do different barrel blends and amounts. You’re tasting 100% of the product. It definitely starts with an idea in your head of what you want the end product to taste like.” The most recent result is the batch-specific Russell’s Reserve 13-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. “Crafting Russell’s Reserve 13-Year-Old turned out to be one of my most rewarding experiences as a distiller,” Eddie said in a press release.
Today’s whiskey makers are a diverse and creative group and are grateful to continue their ancestors’ legacies. “If I could go back in time,” says Fred Noe, “I would like to speak with Jacob Beam and thank him for starting our family legacy in Bourbon. I would also like to ask my great-grandfather Jim Beam if he ever envisioned the company he brought back from Prohibition would grow to the magnitude it is today, and thank him for getting our family back in the bourbon business.”
Uncle Nearest’s Butler notes that it might amaze her formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather to see what’s been done to finally honor his legacy. “Every now and then, while walking the beautiful grounds at the Nearest Green Distillery,” she says, “I imagine Nearest smiling with approval at what is being done to honor him. During those times, I am confident that he is pleased not just with me, but also with Fawn Weaver.”