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.