LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Parker Beam, who carried on his family's historic bourbon-making tradition as longtime master distiller for Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, died Monday after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 75.
Beam's career as a whiskey maker spanned more than a half century at Bardstown, Kentucky-based Heaven Hill, a family owned and operated distilled spirits company and maker of the popular Evan Williams brand. Beam was responsible for distilling and aging Evan Williams - the world's No. 2-selling bourbon- and other Heaven Hill whiskeys.
"He was a true industry giant long before the current bourbon renaissance," Max L. Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Brands, said. "Without question, he was committed to our industry and possessed a real passion for the craft of distilling."
Beam's pedigree as a bourbon maker was impeccable. As a grandnephew of Jim Beam, Parker Beam was born into a family that traces its whiskey-making roots in Kentucky to 1795, when Jacob Beam set up his first still. Park Beam, Parker's grandfather and namesake, was Jim Beam's brother.
"If you were a Beam, you sort of were destined to follow in the footsteps of either your father, grandfathers, cousins or uncles," Parker Beam said in a 2007 interview with the Associated Press.
Another industry patriarch, Bill Samuels Jr., on Monday called his longtime friend "one of the good guys." For some people, living up to a legendary family name can be a burden, but not so for Parker, Samuels said.
"In his case, he lived up to and exceeded the burden of having the most famous name in bourbon," said Samuels, who retired after a long career as the top executive at Maker's Mark.
During his years-long battle with the disorder, Parker Beam raised funds in hopes of helping find a cure.