BOTM, 6/07: Jim Beam Black

[jburlowski]

I have tried this on occasion.. I have not been impressed.

Too many other, better bourbons for a compabable price.

[cowdery]

Brad mentioned not seeing JBB in bars. My experience has been different. I see it in bars with some regularity and consider it a welcome option, especially when the only other choices are JBW, JDB and MM. I have nothing against MM but when that's my choice, I usually go with JBB.

[reg]

Great shooting whisky. Mixs well with anything. Always in my bar.

[Hyperspace]

Brad mentioned not seeing JBB in bars. My experience has been different. I see it in bars with some regularity

I see it in some bars, but not many.

[cowdery]

So I'm at a soccer match Saturday evening and as we're entering the stadium, a young woman sticks a bag under my nose and says "free candy."

I don't know about the rest of you, but presented with an open bag and the words "free candy," I still reach in and take one automatically, without hesitation. What I got makes me wonder what else I've been missing. It was a "tamarind flavored soft candy." The "candy" is a paste that is pushed up through a plastic grating, from which it is licked, a whole candy delivery system that is new to me--a dispenser.

It tastes like tamarind, which I know from Chinese food. It was sweet and fruity, plum-like, with a sharp, peppery bite. I didn't care for it.

Today I thought of that candy as I drank some Jim Beam Black, but I don't mean that to sound unflattering. Jim Beam is distinctive for being a very clean spirit, but it still tastes green in the white label incarnation. In the black, all of that greenness is gone. Instead I get plummy sweetness and vanilla, similar to the tamarind candy except without the parts I didn't like.

In a way, Jim Beam Black reminds me of Maker's Mark, because it is perfectly enjoyable to drink, but mostly for being so inoffensive. Both are like bridges between the ordinary or too green whiskeys and the more genuinely top shelf, among which I would include the Small Batch offerings.

In other words, the attributes the product actually delivers are perfectly in tune with its marketplace positioning, a noteworthy accomplishment.

[Sweetmeats]

Good post. I agree.

[hokiedave92]

On a recent flight to the UK, JBB was the only bourbon on the cart, so I had a couple to put me in the right mood. This was my first sampling, and I thought it was quite good. Smooth with a nice hint of vanilla. Even the lady next to me thought it smelled "lovely".

Dave

p.s. - They did try to foist JD on me, but I wasn't playing along.

[whiskeyhatch]

Hmmm,

I tried to order this once, but when I ordered "Beam Black" they poured me a glass of Jack Daniels Single Barrell. I didn't complain :-)

I would love to know where some of you who like it rank this in comparison to Knob Creek and JBW. I've never bought it because in general I don't care for bourbon under 90 proof and Knob Creek is typically around $22 in these parts...

Joel

With Knob Creek in the mix, KC would be a 10. (Absolutely wonderful on its own.) JBBL would be a 5 or 6. (Got ice?) And JBWL would be a doable 3 or 4. (Make sure there's ice!)

[Stu]

I opened a new bottle and compared against KC and Bookers. I agree with Chuck that the flavor profile is closer to Bookers than KC. Next I cut the Bookers to the same proof as JBB and discovered something interesting. The flavor profile was very close, but I actually preferred the finish on the JBB. Bookers finish was very slightly astringent with a metallic hint. I know that Bookers is a single barrel, and SBs can vary from barrel to barrel. Has anyone else experienced this, or could it just be the barrel that filled my bottle? Next I compared against
Basil Hayden. World of difference - but then I seem to remember reading that BH is a wheater. My question is: where does Baker's fit in this jumble? I may be weird but I enjoy JBB and Will buy another bottle. I guess I should buy a bottle of JBw to try as well.

Stu

[cowdery]

Booker's is not SB.

Basil Hayden is, in effect, Old Grand-Dad, so it has about twice as much rye in it as Jim Beam does, and uses a different yeast.

I've always understood that Jim Beam makes two bourbons, the high-rye one that is OGD and BH, and another that is everything else, which would mean Beam white, Beam black, KC, Baker's and Booker's are all the same whiskey, just at different ages and proofs and with different profiles. However, I have other information that says Beam only has the two different mash bills, but also makes the Beam mash bill with a different yeast and it's that whiskey which they bottle as KC and Baker's, as well as some cats and dogs like Old Crow and Old Taylor, but my authority for the "second yeast" theory is not great.