James Howard Bedford (January 30, 1940 – August 7, 2009) was responsible for overseeing the production of

Jack Daniel's Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956. Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" T ...

Tennessee whiskey Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to ...

and ensuring the consistent flavor of the product in his 20 years serving as the distillery's sixth master distiller.

Early life

Bedford was born on January 30, 1940, in

Franklin County, Tennessee Franklin County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located on the eastern boundary of Middle Tennessee in the southern part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester. Franklin ...

, and grew up on a farm in

Lynchburg, Tennessee Lynchburg is a city in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is governed by a consolidated city-county government unit whose boundaries coincide with those of Moore County. Lynchburg is best known as the location of Jack Dan ...

. There he attended

Moore County High School Moore County High School is a six-year public high school in Lynchburg, Tennessee, serving students in grades 7–12 from Moore County, Tennessee, as part of the Moore County School District. As of the 2005–06 school year, the school had an ...

.Staff
"James H. Bedford 'Jimmy'"
''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'', August 9, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009. He attended

Tennessee Polytechnic Institute Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as ...

, where he met his future wife, graduating from the school in 1962.Hevesi, Dennis
"Jimmy Bedford, Guardian of Jack Daniel’s, Dies at 69"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 10, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009.

Career

He and his wife moved back to the Lynchburg area following graduation from college and took a job in 1968 at the Jack Daniel's Distillery there. He learned the various details of the production process and was named as the company's sixth master distiller in 1988, where he was responsible for supervising the "milling, yeasting, fermenting and distilling" involved in making the whiskey using a network of fermenters, stills, and vats. According to his obituary in ''

'', he had "what he considered one of the most enviable jobs imaginable — making sure Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey tasted just the way it had since 1866". Bedford would compare new batches with old by sipping, but not swallowing, samples of the product to ensure that "it never changes" and that Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 remained "the biggest constant in Lynchburg". As part of his position, Bedford appeared in advertisements describing his role and did promotional tours and tasting seminars worldwide. Bedford oversaw the introduction of two

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...

s: Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, which was less sweet and smoky than the original, and Gentleman Jack, introduced in 1988 as a "superpremium" brand. He left the distillery in 2008 after being the subject of a $3.5 million sexual harassment lawsuit. His successor, as the seventh master distiller at Jack Daniel's, was Jeff Arnett.Edwards, Joe via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

''
"Jimmy Bedford, ex-master distiller, dies at age 69"
''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'', August 7, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009. Bedford was recognized with the Icons of Whisky Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 by ''Whisky'' magazine.

Personal

Bedford died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at age 69 on August 7, 2009, at his farm near Lynchburg. He was survived by his wife Emily, née Gregory, their only daughter, and on
grandson
Four racers at the

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series have taken place at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on the road course annually since 1986. Since 2018 the 90-lap, race has been known as Go Bowling at The Glen for sponsor ...

run on August 10, three days following his death, ran the race in Bedford's memory, with driver

Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super T ...

riding with a specially designed decal reading "In Memory of Jimmy Bedford" on his #07 Jack Daniel's

Chevrolet Impala SS Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...

, with the decal also being placed on the cars of drivers

Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

, and

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...

.Staff
"Sprint drivers honoring Jimmy Bedford"
''

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

'', August 8, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Jimmy People from Franklin County, Tennessee People from Lynchburg, Tennessee Tennessee Technological University alumni 1940 births 2009 deaths