Jim Beam

From the cooker, the mash heads to the fermenter where it is cooled to 60–70°F and yeast is added again. The yeast is fed by the sugars in the mash, producing heat, carbon dioxide and alcohol. Called "distiller's beer" or "wash", the resulting liquid (after filtering to remove solids) looks, smells and tastes like (and essentially is) a form of beer. The wash is pumped into a column still where it is heated to over 200°F, causing the alcohol to turn to a vapor. As the vapor cools and falls it turns to a liquid called "low wine", which measures 125 proof or 62.5% alcohol. A second distillation in a pot still heats and condenses the liquid into "high wine", which reaches 135 proof (67.5% alcohol).

From the cooker, the mash heads to the fermenter where it is cooled to 60–70°F and yeast is added again. The yeast is fed by the sugars in the mash, producing heat, carbon dioxide and alcohol. Called "distiller's beer" or "wash", the resulting liquid (after filtering to remove solids) looks, smells and tastes like (and essentially is) a form of beer. The wash is pumped into a column still where it is heated to over 200°F, causing the alcohol to turn to a vapor. As the vapor cools and falls it turns to a liquid called "low wine", which measures 125 proof or 62.5% alcohol. A second distillation in a pot still heats and condenses the liquid into "high wine", which reaches 135 proof (67.5% alcohol).

The high wine is moved to new, charred American oak barrels, each of which hold about 53 gallons of liquid. A "bung" is used to seal the barrels before moving them to nearby hilltop rackhouses where they will age up to nine years. As the seasons change, natural weather variations expand and contract the barrel wood, allowing bourbon to seep into the barrel, and the caramelized sugars from the charred oak flavor and color the bourbon. A significant portion (known as the "angel's share") of the 53 gallons of bourbon escapes the barrel through evaporation, or stays trapped in the wood of the barrel.[9] Jim Beam ages for at least four years, or twice as long as the government requires for a "straight" bourbon. At the end of the aging period the amber liquid is filtered, bottled, packaged and sent to one of many distributors around the world in compliance with the three-tier distribution system.

The high wine is moved to new, charred American oak barrels, each of which hold about 53 gallons of liquid. A "bung" is used to seal the barrels before moving them to nearby hilltop rackhouses where they will age up to nine years. As the seasons change, natural weather variations expand and contract the barrel wood, allowing bourbon to seep into the barrel, and the caramelized sugars from the charred oak flavor and color the bourbon. A significant portion (known as the "angel's share") of the 53 gallons of bourbon escapes the barrel through evaporation, or stays trapped in the wood of the barrel.[9] Jim Beam ages for at least four years, or twice as long as the government requires for a "straight" bourbon. At the end of the aging period the amber liquid is filtered, bottled, packaged and sent to one of many distributors around the world in compliance with the three-tier distribution system.