Jim Beam reports sales uplift as Cadillac F1 partnership pays off in year one

Jim Beam has recorded a rise in sales and stronger brand equity directly linked to its sponsorship of the Cadillac Formula 1 team, the bourbon maker’s global brand vice president revealed at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York on Wednesday.

KK Hall, who holds the global brand VP role at Jim Beam — a Kentucky bourbon label owned by Suntory Global Spirits — told a panel audience that the results had been “undeniable” in markets where the company had committed investment. “We have seen an uplift in sales and in brand health equity that we track in markets where we’ve invested, and it’s undeniable that it works,” she said.

Jim Beam is a founding partner of Cadillac F1, which entered the championship as its 11th constructor in 2026. Hall was speaking at the event’s second New York edition, held at the Manhattan Motorcars showroom, alongside a panel that included seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former Formula 1 chairman and CEO Chase Carey, General Motors’ Mark Reuss, Penske’s Jonathan Gibson, and NASCAR’s Tim Clark. Red Bull’s recently departed team principal Christian Horner also made his first U.S. public appearance since leaving Oracle Red Bull Racing at the same event.

Hall was clear that the strategy had always been designed to extend well beyond trackside branding. “It was always our intention to not show up simply… nor is it just about making sure our customers and our executives can have a place at a club,” she said. “For us, it’s been about extending the IP and the storyline.”

The activation model has centred on bars, restaurants, and retail environments, as well as experiential events on race weekends. Hall noted that Cadillac and Jim Beam are jointly hosting a ranch house event at the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend — 23–25 October at the Circuit of the Americas — specifically to engage fans who do not hold race tickets.

“We’ve learned to show up outside the track and do the programming,” she said, pointing to mass television exposure and on-the-ground activations across global markets as the channels driving measurable commercial returns.

The disclosure adds early commercial evidence to the broader argument that Formula 1’s continued growth in North America is translating into tangible returns for brand partners, particularly those aligned with the sport’s newest American-backed team.