Booker Noe II, Frederick (1929–2004), known universally as “Booker,” was among an extraordinary post–World War II generation of visionary distillers including Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey, Elmer T. Lee of George T. Stagg (now Buffalo Trace), Parker Beam of Heaven Hill, and Jim Rutledge of Four Roses. Of this whisky-maker pantheon, none was larger, in every way, than Jim Beam’s grandson, Booker Noe, with his six feet four (193 cm) frame and personality to match.
Born in Springfield, Kentucky, just outside of Bardstown, during the height of Prohibition, Booker went on to football stardom at the University of Kentucky and then became assistant distiller to T. Jeremiah Beam in 1950. After mastering every aspect of distilling, he was named Jim Beam’s master distiller in 1965, becoming the sixth generation of Beam family members to guide the legendary Kentucky distillery. Known for his fiercely candid wit as well as his unbridled love of fishing, playing “jug bluegrass” with his musician friends, and smoking hams in his backyard smokehouse in Bardstown, Noe turned legendary by the 1980s. He often described his illustrious grandfather as a “stuffed shirt” due to Jim Beam’s peculiar habit of going fishing in a white shirt and tie.
Noe’s most significant contribution to the American whisky historical record was certainly the creation of Booker’s Bourbon. First released in 1988, Booker’s Bourbon was the initial American whisky left uncut (not diluted with water) and unfiltered. “Straight from the barrel,” Noe would say, “the way bourbon used to be.” It was doused with a splash of branch water, and Noe described his personal bourbon as “Kentucky tea.” Booker’s Bourbon helped to unleash the small-batch bourbon revolution.
See also
Prial, Frank J. “F. Booker Noe II, 74, Master Bourbon Distiller.” New York Times, February 27, 2004.
By: F. Paul Pacult