Generously_Paul
Jim Beam Black Label Extra-Aged
Bourbon — Kentucky , USA
Reviewed
November 13, 2017 (edited May 10, 2020)
I grabbed a bottle of this bourbon a couple of weeks ago and have been making my way through it pretty quickly (I shared most of it with family). Here’s what I’ve found.
Bottled at 43% ABV and most likely chill filtered. It’s a Kentucky straight bourbon so it’s natural color by law. This is a straight amber. It’s a NAS that formally had an age statement of 8 years. My guess is that it’s somewhere between 6-8. Not a bad price at $23.
The nose is strong on the corn. Plenty of oak, vanilla, cinnamon and clove. Buttery rolls, orange zest and some milk chocolate. Toffee and butterscotch, baked apples, a bit of banana and almonds. It’s a very nice nose especially considering the price. Nothing really remarkable, but nothing bad either.
The palate is more of the same with corn leading the charge. Caramel, vanilla, oak and a touch of mint. Stronger banana than on the nose and walnuts instead of almonds or maybe both. Very easy drinking and inoffensive.
A light bodied mouthfeel that is a little thin but a little oily too.
A medium short finish with oak, banana, walnuts and corn.
For the price this is a solid choice. More expensive than Evan Williams Black Label ($16), but much better quality. Definitely good enough to drink neat or with a little ice, and almost too good to drown in a mixed drink. I still need to try EW White Label (which is still cheaper than this one [$18]) to compare, but this might become my go to house bourbon. A solid 3.75 factoring in the value, but could be bumped up to a 4 depending on how many I’ve had lol.
Cheers
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Seeing as how I usually use Jim Beam as my mixer with Coca-Cola it’s odd that I don’t think I’ve ever tried the black label. Since you gave this one pretty high marks, I may have to give this one a go the next time I hit the store for a cheap mixer. Great review, Paul.
I pay that much for one glass of Lagavulin. Maybe I should trying more bourbons. :)