[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 44 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONGRATULATING THE WORK OF MASTER DISTILLER JIMMY BEDFORD

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                           HON. LINCOLN DAVIS

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, today I rise to 
commend and congratulate the life's work of Master Distiller Jimmy 
Bedford, the craftsman behind the smooth and distinct Jack Daniels 
whiskey that flows out of Lynchburg, Tennessee, every year.
  For years, Jimmy studied his trade under the tutelage of one-time 
Master Distiller Frank Bobo. When Frank retired, Jimmy took the reigns 
of the milling, yeasting, fermentation, distillation, and charcoal 
mellowing of the long lived Jack Daniels recipe. For 20 years, Jimmy 
has safeguarded this Tennessee tradition in Lynchburg's quiet hollow as 
the sixth Master Distiller in Jack Daniels history.
  Throughout Jimmy's tenure at the distillery, Jack Daniels has seen 
its yearly sales rise from under one million to nearly ten million 
cases in just forty years, with shipments going out to 135 countries 
around the world every year; but, no matter where people are drinking 
their whiskey, whether overseas, along the coasts or right in the heart 
of Tennessee, they know now, as they have for twenty years, that every 
bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey comes to them with Jimmy Bedford's 
approval.
  This year, Jimmy will retire to his farm just two miles up the road 
from the distillery he served for so long. While it is sad to see him 
go, we can trust that Jimmy will leave this icon of Tennessee and 
American culture in the hands of an able and dedicated successor. Jimmy 
retires this month with our blessing, but it is my sincere hope that 
before he steps down we might impress upon him our gratitude for his 
stalwart preservation of this lasting Tennessee tradition.

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