Beverage alcohol has been a part of American culture since the first European settlers arrived with their family recipes for beers and spirits and founded their own distilleries and alehouses. Yet it wasn't until Kentuckians began distilling whiskey from corn in the late eighteenth century that America would find its national drink--bourbon whiskey. Today, bourbon is as American as apple pie and Jim Beam is the biggest name in the business.
When first-generation American Jacob Beam relocated from Maryland to Kentucky and began distilling bourbon, he couldn't have known that he was launching a family business of remarkable longevity. Over two centuries and seven generations, the company's dedication to consistent quality has made Jim Beam the bestselling bourbon in the world and an American icon recognized around the globe--all the while keeping the business in the family's hands.
In American Still Life, F. Paul Pacult--one of the world's foremost writers on the subject of spirits--chronicles the success of the Beam family business and the drink that became a permanent fixture of our culture. Always willing to innovate, but never willing to sacrifice the integrity of their product, the Beam family steered their brand through challenges that would sink the average business--the Civil War, Prohibition, two world wars, and today's fierce global competition. It's a story inextricably interwoven with America's rise to cultural and economic greatness and full of enlightening lessons for today's business leaders.
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