Jim Beam Bonded Bourbon

Picked this up looking for something new from Beam, hoping for something as good as the Black label but with a little more kick. Unfortunately this is nothing like Beam Black. An aside, I have no idea how this gets a 90 here. This whiskey is a standard BiB offering from Beam. It pours a medium gold in the glass and leaves a few skinny legs with some water droplets. The nose was a little surprising: it’s fairly hot with musty corn, light cinnamon spice, and very little sweetness. So far it’s more reminiscent of the White label than the Black and that’s not good. The palate echoes the nose with oak, some heat, and some dry spice. The typical bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla are pretty much non-existent. The finish hangs on a while with more dry, musty, oaky spice. This bottle was pretty disappointing even considering the source and the price. I paid $23 for this locally, but it comes off more like a $15-20 bottle. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between this and the white label other than the proof. Not recommended for sipping neat but it’s fine for mixing. Its dry profile actually makes a decent Old Fashioned, so not a complete loss. 2.75/5.

Honey with a touch of cinnamon and oak on the nose. Honey and oak with cinnamon and spices. Viscous mouthfeel. Warming finish.

A large amount of wheat and grain scent and flavor, as if it were very young, but we know it can't be too young. It's got a great barrel caramel flavor throughout, which again, is very contradicting and strange. Overall, it finishes with a bit of smoke, but falls away quite quickly.

Sweet honey was the most predominant nose for me, as well as with the first sip, mixing with vanilla before moving into a warm mix of spices. Tasted oak throughout and finished with tobacco. I was very surprised at how rich and oily this was. Long lasting for me.

The nose has vanilla, oak, floral note, toffee, and butterscotch. The palate has rich baked vanilla, honey, little pepper and a hint of butterscotch. Good for when you’re craving something sweet. Maybe a good holiday whiskey. The typical Jim Beam green oak flavor faded away after a few sips. This is an excellent whiskey worth more than the retail price. It doesn’t have a lot of flavors going on but what it does have is very good! The sweet and somewhat oily finish lingers for quite awhile. Very pleasant surprise for this price point.