Sad news from Nfocus editor Ellen Nelson:
Jimmy Bedford, the sixth of seven master distillers of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, died earlier today of a heart attack. He had retired last year at age 68 after 40 years with the Lynchburg distillery.
Bedford began his career with Brown-Forman in Lynchburg at a young age, forgoing his desire to be a large-animal vet. The choice served him well, as he quickly climbed the ladder working under previous head distiller Frank Bobo.
A native of Lynchburg, Bedford hadn't traveled much until he became master distiller in 1988. But with his sturdy, handsome good looks and deep Southern pipes, he was the perfect role model for Jack Daniel's and met with whiskey lovers in scores of nations. From a goat hill in Greece to discos in the Czech Republic, Bedford was revered as the rep for an American icon. Since his retirement, he'd been enjoying work on his farm, just a mile down the road from the distillery.
For the record, he drank his Jack on the rocks with just a little splash of water to open it up—or, as they say, to uncoil the serpent.
