Imagine a world without bourbon or rye whiskey.

As terrifying as that scenario sounds, not that long ago, America was heading in that very direction. Only a trickle of rye was being made each year and bourbon brands were struggling to stay relevant and were precipitously losing market share. But just in the nick of time, American whiskey distillers were miraculously able to stage a successful comeback.

On this episode of the award-winning podcast Life Behind Bars, co-hosts David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum, talk about how American whiskey brands lost their way and how they were then able to reverse their fortunes.

They are joined by Fred Noe, Jim Beam’s great grandson and the Beam family’s seventh-generation distiller, to talk about his legendary father Booker Noe and his groundbreaking Small Batch Bourbon Collection. Fred also shares how his father got the idea for these pioneering American whiskies and how long he thinks this bourbon boom will last.

So pour yourself a few fingers of your favorite American whiskey and listen to this episode of Life Behind Bars. Cheers!

Life Behind Bars features Half Full’s editor Noah Rothbaum and its Senior Drinks Columnist David Wondrich as they discuss the greatest bartenders and greatest cocktails of all time. It won the 2018 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for the world’s best drinks podcast.

Edited by Alex Skjong

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