"wild turkey" news and stories

In days of old, a son learning his father's craft was no major news, just an expected and traditional way to build a career. Now, many companies choose to highlight family teams in their marketing strategies.

Let's start in the heart of American distillation -- Kentucky. The largest distillery there may be owned by giant drinks company Fortune Brands, but the Jim Beam legacy is seven generations deep. The current master distiller is Frederick "Fred" Booker Noe III. He had a hard act to follow with the passing away of his beloved father, Booker Noe, who happened to be the grandson of James. B. Beam. Fred Noe has one son -- Frederick Booker Noe IV -- who, even at his young age, undoubtedly feels a little pressure to follow the family's legacy in the whiskey business.

Jim Beam doesn't hoard all the Beam family teams, however. Heaven Hill Distillery is Kentucky's largest family-owned bourbon producer. After prohibition, the Shapiro family jump-started this distillery with the help of the first cousin of Jim Beam, and ever since then a member of the Beam family has been in charge of distillation. Today Parker Beam and his son Craig make an incredible family team at Heaven Hill.

Photo: flickr / teddy llovet.

Officials at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission absolutely refuse to talk turkey this week, thanks to a lawsuit filed by a local hunter furious with the department for canceling this year's turkey season.

Citing pending litigation, spokesman Keith Stephens declined to comment on the department's contentious decision last month to halt the hunt. "Nobody's going to talk about this," Stephens says.

According to a release issued by the commission, a close 4-3 vote determined the fate of the much-anticipated archery and firearm turkey seasons, previously slated to start this month. "I'm convinced we have a heck of a problem ... we're going to mess around and not have a spring turkey season if we don't do something," said vice-chairman Craig Campbell.

Did you know that the first print ad for Johnnie Walker, which appeared in 1883, featured a Scotsman bawling over a broken bottle at his feet? Me neither, until I read Modern Drunkard's Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time. The jaunty chap with the top hat, tails and walking stick didn't appear until 1909. Originally known as the "Regency Buck," the iconic figure underwent a name change to become "The Striding Man." I also learned that Johnnie Walker is Superman's libation of choice.

It comes as no surprise that the whimsical Guinness Toucan appears on MD's list. The bird was introduced in the 1930s and had a 50-year run until its retirement in 1982. While many a tippler is familiar with this brightly colored fellow sporting a pint of the black stuff balanced on his beak, few know the little poem that accompanied the original advertisement: "If he can say as you can/'Guinness is good for you'/How grand to be a Toucan!/Just think what Toucan do."

Most of the other icons on the list, including Mr. Boston, the Bacardi Bat and The Wild Turkey were familiar to me with the exception of The Hamm's Bear. Heck, I've never even heard of Hamm's Beer much less the wacky cartoon bear that represented the brand in a series of commercials that involved all sorts of high jinks ranging from pie fights and such to more serious capers such as robbery and arson. Rather than list all of the icons here I thought I'd let folks read through the MD piece.

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