Owned by: BEAM SUNTORY

When Suntory acquired Jim Beam in 2014, the deal thrust the company near the top of the pecking order, for a cool $13.6 billion price tag, which eventually cost closer to $16 billion. It officially made Beam Suntory the world's third largest distiller. Suntory Whisky's Japanese trifecta of Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki, as well as Kakubin, added to Jim Beam's strength in bourbon, along with key Irish and Scotch assets, and a range of brands in other categories from Courvoisier to Sauza.