At Heaven Hill, I congratulated Max Shapira, whose family has owned that property since the repeal of Prohibition, on its new distillery. Bourbon, he says, is one of the most difficult whiskeys to make because it has to be perfect when it comes out of the barrel. No flavoring or coloring can be added, only pure water to cut it down to bottling proof. Max, who has done a great business exporting brands such as Evan Williams and Elijah Craig around the world, was very enthusiastic about the growth of the spirit here. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm.
People are interested to try it, and when they do they like it.
There's enough history, heritage and production quality to sink your teeth into. Everybody in the industry makes a great product and that's good for everybody. That sounds like good news for me. That night, the legendary Booker Noe, grandson of Jim Beam, threw a barbecue at his home in Bardstown. At home, however, Fred still defers to Booker, who reminisced about his son's several hitches at making it through school.