Kathleen DiBenedetto

When Kathleen DiBenedetto started her career at Jim Beam in 1991, industry legend and bourbon superstar Booker Noe was the Master Distiller at Beam (now Beam-Suntory). One of Kathleen’s first jobs was working right alongside Booker. As they traveled the country and learned what it took to market to and find audiences for what was then a mostly untapped market in premium small batch whiskey, they were trying to ease small batch brands Booker’s, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, and Bakers from their infancy into the mainstream. Every night, Booker and Kathleen would sit at his kitchen table, where he would quiz her on what she had learned that day so she would be able to speak about what made each bourbon brand so special.

“Booker was larger than life, recalls DiBenedetto, “He was my mentor and teacher—a challenging one at that—but he was family to me. Even in the ’90s, his reputation preceded him. Learning from him was an honor. It defined the course of my life’s work.”

Those efforts of Booker Noe and Kathleen DiBenedetto laid a foundation for the growth of not only Beam’s super-premium brands but the entire small-batch category as a whole. Kathleen’s work with the Beam family was instrumental in positioning the Small Batch bourbon collection to the upscale consumer, ultimately laying the groundwork for the explosive bourbon renaissance of the 2010s and 2020s.

In 2015, her dedication to Beam and her commitment to developing a universal bourbon education platform were recognized when Kathleen was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. This was followed three years later when 2018-01 Booker’s Bourbon was named after her: “Kathleen’s Batch”. The bourbon has the following characteristics: Proof: 127.4; Age: 6 years/3 months/14 days; Palate: Notes of caramel, vanilla, leather, and floral honey. The finish is well-balanced with flavors of toasted oak and caramel and is rich, strong, and sweet.

Of the bottle naming, current Beam co-master distiller Fred Noe said, “I’m thrilled to honor Kathleen as someone who has poured her heart and soul into (Beam) brands for more than 25 years, especially our super-premium bourbons. She is probably too young to be called a pioneer, but that’s exactly what she was back in the ‘90s. Kathleen is like the daughter Dad (Booker) never had, and I know he’d be proud to name a batch of his namesake bourbon in her honor.”

Most recently, Kathleen has transitioned into yet another role at Beam, this time in Premium & On-Premise Marketing, where her role is to focus efforts on driving prestige for the upscale brands through new marketing partnerships and practices, and deploying equity-driving brand programs in the on-premise arena. 

Kathleen is humbled and honored to be a member of the Bourbon Hall of Fame, as well as a member of philanthropic bourbon guild The Order of the Writ, and the exclusive scotch whisky society Keepers of the Quaich. She is also a member of the Senior Executive Committee of Women of the Vine & Spirits. Kathleen is most proud to be the mother to two adult sons, Dominic, who also works in the spirits business with Bacardi brands, and Christian, who plays college hockey.

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee