In 1783, Evan Williams opened first commercial distillery on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, it was the first commercial distillery in Kentucky. The bourbon that still bears the distiller’s name is one of the popular bourbons today.
In 1783, Samuels family tradition begins. The Samuels family claims the title of the oldest bourbon family still going strong. Prior to 1840, the Samuels family did not produce bourbon commercially. It wasn’t until T.W. Samuels (grandson of Robert Samuels who created the “secret” family recipe) came along and constructed a distillery at Samuels Depot, Kentucky that the family made a business of bourbon.
The Beam family has one of the best-known names in American whiskey. The man that started what would be a family legacy and is now in its 7th generation, was Jacob Beam who sold his first barrel of “Old Jake Beam Sour” in 1795.