The First Barrel at Maker's Mark-OLD SAMUELS

[boone]

Well, I have been a spy-cam with Maker's... and a few others.... so I decided to spy into my records ta see some of my family connections there.....thought some of you would like to know the info also....

James Elmo Beam is my great-uncle..

February, 1954

First Barrel at Old Samuels Plant to be Filled Friday

Pioneer Nelson County Distilling Name Moves to Marion for Liquor Manfacture

Contrary to the general trend in the whiskey distilling industry, an independent is returning to the whiskey manufacturing business.

In a brief ceremony, the first whiskey made by the Old Samuels Distillery will be placed in a gold-hooped barrel Friday, and the name of Samuels will begin a new era in liquor production--this time in Marion County.

The plant, the original Burk Springs Distillery, will manufacture 20 barrels a day, according to Taylor William Samuels, Bardstown, who heads the distillery corporation. Last fall the new corporation bought the Old Happy Hollow Distillery plant which had been out of production three years.

The fourth generation of a family of distillers, Taylor William Samuels is returning to whiskey manufacturing after a lapse of over ten years. Returning too, to the whiskey industry is a member of another pioneer distilling family, James Elmo Beam of Barstown, who is associated with the Old Samuels firm as distiller. He joined the late Leslie B. Samuels in whiskey manfacture after Prohibition and continued in it for some years.

Presently, the Old Samuels Distillery has its business offices in Barstown.

Bettye Jo

This story says that Elmo is from Bardstown....Actually Elmo was living (retired) in Florida when Bill Samuels SR. called him and asked him to "come out of retirement" to help in getting this distillery off the ground.....--IMO--They must have been really good friends....

Elmo died in 1955.....sadly enough Pop (Joseph L.) endured massive grief... he lost his oldest son then.... Katie (his wife) suffered a massive heart attack two weeks later....she died two hours after being admitted to Flaget hospital in Bardstown, Ky.--------Still chokes me ever time I read it------------

[bobbyc]

How cool! I never met Bill Samuels Sr. but there must have been something about that man . To this day and I probably will always be able to say this , I've never heard a bad word toward him from anyone.

I remember when his Old plant was still running at Deatsville , even though he was long gone to Loretto , a lot of the old crew still were there. These were people we would visit from time to time and they adored Bill Samuels Sr. As far as I know that applys to the Beams as well.