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Dad was a natural storyteller. While out on the road to promote his namesake bourbon, he would tell anyone who would listen about how Booker’s Bourbon came about. Distributors and other industry folks thought Jim Beam hired an actor – that’s how good he was. He told a lot of different stories, but one of his favorites took place during a visit to Chicago. While eating at a nice restaurant, Booker was served a so-called “country ham.”

However, it didn’t quite match up to his idea of a true, bona fide country ham. So he leaned over to his publicist and right-hand man and asked him to retrieve the ham he had stashed in his trunk for an upcoming Alaska fishing trip. Booker wanted to show the chef what genuine country ham tasted like. After a bit of back and forth, the ham made its way into the restaurant, where Booker generously shared it with both the chef and the other diners. That story always got the whole room laughing.

Booker enjoyed telling stories just as much as he loved making bourbon. He would strike up a conversation with a stranger, and by the end of it, they would feel like lifelong friends. Dad would always say, be yourself and talk about the things you’ve actually lived, and I think my son Freddie and I do a good job at this. Storytelling is certainly a Noe family trait. I hope you take the opportunity to share stories with family, friends, and even strangers while you sip this batch, just as Booker would’ve done.