[2] He and his wife moved back to the Lynchburg area following graduation from college and took a job in 1968 at the Jack Daniel's Distillery there.
According to his obituary in The New York Times, he had "what he considered one of the most enviable jobs imaginable — making sure Jack Daniel's Old No.
Bedford would compare new batches with old by sipping, but not swallowing, samples of the product to ensure that "it never changes" and that Jack Daniel's Old No.
[2] As part of his position, Bedford appeared in advertisements describing his role and did promotional tours and tasting seminars worldwide.
Sour Cream Dips at The Glen run on August 10, three days following his death, ran the race in Bedford's memory, with driver Casey Mears riding with a specially designed decal reading "In Memory of Jimmy Bedford" on his #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Impala SS, with the decal also being placed on the cars of drivers Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, and Kevin Harvick.