Marlene Holmes

“From Catfish to Blanco”

Marlene K. Holmes was born in Kentucky in 1956. Growing up, the rhythms of bourbon country were an active part of her life, rickhouses dotted the landscape, and the culture of bourbon, from bourbon pecan pie to bourbon balls during holidays, was woven into family life; nevertheless, for nearly 35 years. Marlene managed to resist the industry that made her state famous. By 1990, Holmes was living on a 30-acre farm where she had a small lake. She contemplated the idea of raising catfish for a living while also working as a home remodeler and managing her quaint homestead.

Her entry point into distilling came through a serendipitous intersection of her interest in fish and the whiskey industry. At the time, Booker Noe, the legendary Master Distiller for Jim Beam, was experimenting with using dried distillers’ grain (a byproduct of bourbon production) as fish feed. Noe had stocked 1,000 catfish fingerlings, and he needed someone to care for and feed them. Holmes, who lived nearby and had a fair amount of catfish knowledge, took on the role for a summer.

During that time, being around the Noes, Holmes gained her first experience behind the gate of a distillery and became friendly with Beam staff while observing operations. She was curious and drawn to the massive equipment, fermenting tanks, silos, and the scale of operations inside. A short time later, when a job opening came up at the Jim Beam distillery (ironically, at the Booker Noe plant), she applied and was soon hired. Holmes' first official day in the whiskey industry was November 11, 1990. Over the next few years, she worked in various roles at Beam, particularly operating the massive column stills under the watchful guidance of Booker Noe himself. While at Beam, Holmes also worked with Pam Heilmann, who later became Kentucky’s first female Master Distiller, and whom Marlene credits with being her biggest influence.

Over the years, as bourbon demand increased, the facility where she worked expanded. During its peak, the Boston facility could produce up to 1,400 barrels per day. And it was there that Holmes stayed with Beam for nearly 28 years, honing her skills, learning blending, fermentation, and aging processes. But by 2018, Holmes was seeking a new challenge. While still at Beam, she had begun to flirt with the idea of craft distilling. Around that time, she happened to meet Marsha Milam, founder of Milam & Greene Whiskey, who was looking for someone to lead distillation at her nascent Texas craft operation. The two women hit it off immediately. Ultimately, Holmes, by then 62, decided to leave Kentucky, sold her farm, packed up, and moved from the green hills of Kentucky to Blanco, Texas, to take on the role of Master Distiller for Milam & Greene.