New Beam 12y/o?

[squire]

For some reason that popped into my mind Joe but I don't know from whence it came.

[ethangsmith]

I can't wait until this wine barrel thing blows over. Wine and whiskey culture should never meet in my opinion.

[Gillman]

Looking at the bottle pictured in Fred Minnick's blog, it seems to be a bourbon plain and simple, not finished in brandy cask. He says a second expression may come out in September which has the brandy cask finish. Certainly the price mentioned ($40.00) seems very fair either way considering that aged bourbon is at a premium these days.

I think the thinking chez Beam has been that very aged bourbons can benefit from a finish in a wine or non-whiskey spirits cask, but many bourbon fans like the taste of older tannic bourbon and find that brandy or port doesn't add to the experience and may take away.

In the 70's, Beam regularly issued bourbons 12 years and older, describing them by months of age (110 months, 120 months, etc.). These were the famous decanter series of that time. The age in fact was all over the map, anything from 7 years to 15 IIRC.

It has taken Beam some time to catch up to the very-aged segment of the market, so long that the category has started to recede due to penury of supply, but it is good to see this move finally being made and the pricing again (if it stays to what Fred Minnick indicated) is very fair.

Gary

[Josh]

I'm keeping an open mind, but 86 proof is a major disappointment. They really should have tried to do better than that.

[Gillman]

I agree fully viz. the proof. It should have been 90 at a minimum.

Gary

[cowdery]

I was at the same meeting as Fred, tasted the 12-year-old, and got a 50ml sample. More here. It's not brandy-finished, but you may have uncovered the secret of the second "Signature Craft" release, which they told us was also coming. The Jim Beam Signature Craft 12 Years is 86 proof and will retail for about $40, a good value compared to 10-year-old Bulliet at $50. It's the same look as the Six Grain that sold in Travel Retail in 2010. They told us the 12 Years will be 'permanent,' but there will be other releases in the series that will be limited editions. They said one of those was coming too. Maybe it's this brandy-finished one. That would make sense.

They said this is a 'purpose built' 12-year-old, in that they decided 12 years ago to do a 12-year-old 12 years hence, in terms of allocation of liquid. (subtext, this was not the cause of the Knob Creek shortage).

This is their attempt to bring out another sub-brand that plays in the same space as the Small Batch Collection, but under the Jim Beam name. Meanwhile, the idea of marketing the 4 small batchers as a set is about done. Henceforth they'll be marketed at individual brands or, as in the case of Knob, brand families.

I'm trying to start a rumor that their next big new product will be Basil Hayden Rye.

[ebo]

I'm keeping an open mind, but 86 proof is a major disappointment. They really should have tried to do better than that.

This.
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[squire]

I'm down with more rye choices.

[cowdery]

I predict that just as we're seeing age statements only on higher end stuff, we're going to see something similar with proofs. We may see some more mid-price brands lower their proof. We may also see more 84 and 86, and less 90 and 92. We'll still see 100+, but only in very high end stuff like the BTAC. I think the lesson of Maker's Mark is that if you have a strong brand and you're having trouble keeping up with demand, having your proof above 80 is just leaving money on the table.

[squire]

None of that news is unexpected.