Education – You Can Always Learn More!

The IMI group at Jim Beam

March 20th, 2019

That statement is what the IMI Account Management Team lived by on a three-day tour in Louisville, Kentucky this past January.

The group started the first evening with a cocktail reception at the historic Pendennis Club, with our hosts American Beverage Marketers including William Hinkebein, Tim Black and Lisa Norberg. The following day brought a full tour of the American Beverage Marketers plant just across the state line into southern Indiana. The learning continued on their multiple brands – Finest Call, Master of Mixes, REÀLCocktail Ingredients and Agalima – along with a mixology session with Dean Serneels.

The third day gave way to visiting two amazing Bourbon distilleries. First was a tour of Jim Beam Distillery, hosted by Beam Suntory. Beam Suntory’s brands include Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s, Baker’s, Booker’s and much more. “This is such a great day – getting the opportunity to walk around Jim Beam, learning how Whiskey is made, and doing some tasting along the way, on a misty winter day. It’s perfect Bourbon drinking weather!” said Amanda Miles.
The day was capped off by a tour, hosted by our great friends at Brown-Forman, of Old Forester’s new property, Whiskey Row distillery in downtown Louisville. Having recently undergone a $45 million renovation, the distillery is housed in the same building that the brand called home before Prohibition. The historical site experience takes guests through the Bourbon-making process from start to finish including fermentation, distillation, barrel making, aging and bottling.