[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S1678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN REMEMBRANCE OF FREDERICK BOOKER NOE II

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, today I would like to take the 
opportunity to remember Frederick Booker Noe II of Bardstown, Kentucky, 
the master distiller of Jim Beam Bourbon. He passed away on Tuesday at 
age 74 in his home in Bardstown, and will be greatly missed by his 
surviving family and the Jim Beam Brands Company.
  In 1950, Mr. Noe entered the family business, the bourbon that is the 
namesake of his grandfather, Jim Beam. He directed the production and 
aging of bourbon at Jim Beam and was named master distiller in 1965. 
While he oversaw production of Jim Beam Bourbon, production increased 
and innovations were made that revitalized the bourbon industry 
forever.
  His friends considered him ``larger than life,'' and ``one of the 
crown jewels of American distilling.'' Jim Beam Brands honored him upon 
his retirement in 1992 by placing his photo on the bottle labels 
alongside the family distillers who preceded him. Kentuckians are proud 
of our bourbon, and we are proud of Mr. Noe's contributions to the 
industry. He will be greatly missed, and our hearts go out to his 
family during this time.

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