After 228 Years, This is the Oldest Business in Kentucky

Do you know what the oldest business in Kentucky is? You might not know the answer, but I guarantee that you have enjoyed its products a time or two in your life.

From local restaurants to manufacturing businesses, and even world-renowned names, there are a lot of businesses here in America that have a long history. The website, Entrepreneur, listed the oldest business in each state. Chances are, you might not have heard of most of them, but as I looked through the list, there was one that stands out that EVERYONE knows about.

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The Oldest Business in Kentucky

If you had to guess what the oldest business in Kentucky is, what would you say? Maybe something that has to do with horse racing? Or what about the signature drink of the state of Kentucky, bourbon? In fact, the oldest business in Kentucky happens to be Jim Beam. See, I told you that you have heard about this business before. To be honest, I knew it had been around for a long time, but I didn't realize that it was the oldest business in the state.

Jim Beam was founded in 1795. However, the bourbon got started a few years beforehand when Jacob Beam used his father's whiskey recipe to distill his excess corn into a new, sweeter kind of whiskey-bourbon. According to Jim Beam's website:

Perhaps the best decision Jacob Beam ever made was to sell his bourbon. He sold his first barrel of Old Jake Beam Sour Mash in 1795, just three years after Kentucky became a state. His bourbon quickly became a local favourite-no small accomplishment considering that, by the early 1800s, Kentucky was home to about 2,000 distillers.

Over 200 years later, Jim Beam has become one of, if not, the most, recognizable names in the world in terms of bourbon. The company has evolved from just making the original recipe of bourbon to several different drinks. Honestly, my go-to drink is Jim Beam Vanilla (it mixes well with anything), so it was pretty cool to take a little deep dive into my favorite drink and learn something that I didn't know about before.

If you would like to take a look at the oldest business in each state, to learn a thing or two yourself, you can do so by clicking here.