This exquisite whiskey has been produced for seven generations.
Basil Hayden Straight Bourbon Whiskey is named after Basil Hayden Senior, a pious Catholic man who, in the late 1700s, led twenty-five Catholic families from Maryland to Nelson County, Kentucky (near Jim Beam's birthplace). Basil Hayden started Basil Hayden's Whiskey and Bourbon as a distiller. Most bourbons were manufactured from corn at the time, but Hayden began incorporating grains into his personal mash in 1776. He thought that combining spicy rye flavors with sweet maize flavors would be a good match. According to legend, he brewed this bourbon using only the ingredients he had on hand. The bourbon was made with a unique high-rye mash mix that balanced maize sweetness with rye.