With this review, I've now gotten to every member of the original Jim Beam Small Batch series. I used to buy this when I was first getting into bourbon, and it got the job done. It's been a while though. Now that I'm more into the higher-proof stuff, it'll be interesting to see how this holds up. Nose: Peanut brittle, caramel, Gala apple, vanilla, and toffee. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Brown sugar and cocoa. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, ginger, and oak. Orange peel and tobacco add some bitterness. Very good nose. Palate: And this is where things start to fall apart. Vanilla and apple. Caramel. Apricot. White pepper. It's bland. Just not a lot going on here. Finish: Cocoa, caramel, and vanilla. Clove, nutmeg, black pepper, and oak. Orange sweet note that registers somewhere between carrot cake and sweet potato. Short-to-medium finish, leaning toward short. Short answer: No it does not hold up. And it's not a bad whiskey. I wouldn't complain about having to drink it. I think the nose is great. The finish is as good as you'll get for a 40%-er. The problem is that the palate simply misses the mark and that's a major detractor. Solution? Pump this up to at least 45%. If not more. The nose shows enough promise that a significant bump in ABV should take elevate the body to a very respectable level. This is good enough to sip on but will only become a good whiskey when JB decides that they want to transform BH from a money-grab to a real player. The distillate is there; the mash bill works. Boost the ABV and have yourself a winner. Until then, continue to live with a blemish on your near-perfect record, Jim Beam.