Jim Beam is Japanese. What? - Learn Stuff

This was mentioned in my article about the Jim Beam fires that lost millions of gallons of bourbon. Jim Beam isn`t the All-American company it once was.

There are a lot of products that are made by companies that are owned by whom you might not think. If I were to mention Jim Beam, you`d probably think of good ol` American Kentucky bourbon.

While Jim Beam is still made in Kentucky, it`s more complicated than that. The original distillery was founded in 1795, but it has been out of the family for nearly 80 years at this point.

Since 2014 Jim Beam has been the property of Suntory Holdings, which is a company from Japan. You may not have heard of them, but they own a lot of popular American and Canadian spirits.

Cruzan rum, Hornitos tequila, and Pinnacle vodka are some examples. They also own other whiskeys: Maker`s Mark, Canadian Club, Windsor, Old Crow, and Old Grandad are all under the Suntory umbrella.

I could do a whole series about companies like this, because there sure are a lot.