“Grasp distiller” was a brand new title again then, and Dalton believes he’d by no means have acquired it with out Booker Noe’s blessing.
Over 20 years within the American whiskey trade, Jerry Dalton labored at Barton 1792 Distillery as its chief chemist, and James B. Beam Distillery, from which he retired as grasp distiller in 2007. In 2023, he was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Corridor of Fame.
His appointment at Barton got here in 1987, when distillery staff by no means made headlines. Again then, the venerable distillery wanted assist refining and standardizing its a few of its processes, and after operating his personal impartial environmental lab for years, he was match for the job.
When he moved to Beam in 1996, grasp distiller Booker Noe was retired from manufacturing however remained as its beloved model ambassador. His son, Fred Noe, would quickly change into grasp distiller and modify to the evolving lifetime of a whiskey maker cum superstar. Beam’s second distillery, the expansive Booker Noe Plant, situated in Boston, Ky., wanted a distillery supervisor, and Dalton was completely satisfied to imagine the low-profile job.
