The Beam family (anglicised from the German surname Böhm in the 18th century) are the greatest dynasty in all of American distilling, with members involved in nearly every Kentucky distillery during the 20th century. Perhaps none more important however than James "Jim" Beauregard Beam, who rebuilt his family business following the repeal of Prohibition, re-opening the famous Clermont distillery in 1935. The company is now the best-selling bourbon brand in the world (due to Jack Daniel's refusing to be categorised as such). They operate two Kentucky distilleries, the eponymous Jim Beam in Clermont and the Booker Noe distillery in nearby Boston, and since their purchase of National Distillers in 1987 also have a wealth of historic brands under their banner. Since 2014 the company has been a subsidiary of Suntory in Japan, which has widened its portfolio into the Scotch and Japanese whisky industries as well.

From the 1960s to the 1980s much of the Beam's Choice 4-8 Year Old Bourbon intended for the US market was bottled in a series of decanters. Famous European artists, Wedgwood styled vases, famous western prints, even Whistler's Mother and Barbara Eden's I Dream of Jeanie bottle got the treatment.

This bottle is from Collector's Edition, Volume XIV, featuring three masterpieces from the hand of nature painter James Lockhart, Wood Duck, White Tailed Deer and Scarlet Tanager!