Beam Made Bourbon

The newly branded James B. Beam Distilling Company (JBBDCo) campus was an opportunity to create a contemporary customer journey that would preserve the historical brand and connect it to a new generation of bourbon lovers. Under the creative direction of LOVE with Bergmeyer as the campus architectural partner, the JBBDCo sought to create an immersive campus tour that would draw in new and returning visitors with an unparalleled program that encourages guests to make repeat trips back to Clermont, KY, for years to come.

Beam Made Bourbon (BMB) is the first stop on the campus tour and presents a one-of-a-kind learning experience through what goes into the barrels and bottles of the Beam family’s iconic bourbon. At BMB, guests follow Beam’s liquid journey with a tradition over two centuries old involving key bourbon ingredients: corn, rye, malted barley, proper limestone-filtered Kentucky water, and yeast, done the Beam way. Setting the stage for curious minds, guests learn about distillation through museum-quality representations of the essential features of bourbon-making.

At BMB, visitors experience the world’s first “cornfall,” a 25-foot high installation of cascading corn kernels, standing opposite a 25-foot tall waterfall of local limestone-purified Kentucky water (Beam is one of the few distilleries that still use it!), paying homage to these key bourbon ingredients. On display is a vintage 1939 Cadillac akin to the one driven to and from home by Jim Beam himself with a jug of his family's closely guarded secret bourbon ingredient, the recipe's specific old yeast strain. The same strain that they have used for over 85 years.

A new two-story glass wall offers views of the fermentation tanks, the last stop before the liquid is moved to the hardest-working still in America. Guests can see and experience the scale of the fermentation tanks and the steps of the distillation journey like never before.

Our team executed the design in the heart of an active distillery in production all year round. Renovations were made in and around the former craft distillery while the fermentation room remained in production, requiring careful execution within this volatile setting.

The result? An immersive learning and story-telling experience that celebrates a legendary brand and bourbon tradition distinctive from any other.

Visit the story behind the new James B. Beam Distilling Company campus's immersive visitor experience.