Jim Beam Devil's Cut

[cowdery]

Based on something Fred Noe said in his letter, I think Kid Rock may be involved in this too.

Beam has indicated they may use a quote from me, in which I commend them for betting the flagship brand on this kind of stuff. It's gutsy. Red Stag is out of bounds for most people here, which is fine, but Devil's Cut is more in our wheelhouse. For the Kid Rock crowd they all work, as do Jim Beam white, green and black.

Back when Beam didn't really have any brands other than Jim Beam, the only products that bore the full Jim Beam name were white label and Jim Beam Rye. Everything else was "Beam's." When they converted "Beam's Black Label" to "Jim Beam Black Label" it was a big deal.

Yes, Beam has line extension fever. That they are doing it with their top brands tells me the decision was made at the highest levels of the company. They're also doing it with some of their non-whiskey products. They recently calved Hornitos off of Sauza to create a separate 100% agave tequila line. It's a good strategy in an expanding market and probably could have been predicted from their recent increases in production capacity.

Maybe we'll see that Basil Hayden BIB after all.

[AbbieNormal]

I live in Bardstown and know people involved in this. They are currently making a building that will house a machine to 'rock' the barrels. What they normally do after emptying the barrels is rinse them with water then sell them to a barrel distributor. What they will do now is partially fill the barrels with water, rock them on this machine for 45 minutes, then capture the water/bourbon mix and use THAT to cut their whisky instead of straight water. That will be what is marketed as 'The Devi'ls cut'. Yes, it is marketing and a play on the Angle's share. It is also a green initiative to recapture the water that would normally be dumped and have to be treated before it is sent to the local sewer system.

[Gillman]

So is it similar then to what Brown Forman do for Jack Daniels?

Gray

[AbbieNormal]

So is it similar then to what Brown Forman do for Jack Daniels?

Gray

Not sure what BF does. Just know what the people at the Clermont plant are telling me.

[Gillman]

Well, I understand that for some time, at the Jack Daniel's distillery, water is used to extract absorbed, residual alcohol from the barrel and B-F uses this to dilute to bottling proof, the dumped whiskey. I am not sure (there has been some discussion here) how intensive the process is used by B-F, but the point being, the resultant dilute mixture is used to bring a barrel down to proof, not as the source of the whiskey itself. Devil's Cut in other words sounds similar in this respect, it is not, if I've got this right, comprised only of whiskey extracted from the barrel by the method you described.

Gary

[callmeox]

It is also a green initiative to recapture the water that would normally be dumped and have to be treated before it is sent to the local sewer system.

I think the "green" aspect may be a bit of marketing fantasy.

Whenever I've witnessed barrels being dumped, the dump-water rinse-dump cycle has taken place over the same trough. I've never seen the rinse water get dumped anywhere else.

[cowdery]

It sounds very similar to what Daniel's is doing, with the addition of agitation and, I'm told, heat.

I'm also skeptical of any 'green' claims regarding this, as none of the water involved in these processes has ever gone back into the environment. Their main wastewater issue, unless they're flushing spent mash (most don't), is temperature. The water is generally too hot to release back into the environment.

[harshest]

A review from Drinkhacker.com. Pretty cool looking bottle.

As for their rating, they gave JBB a B+, Red Stagg a B, and JB Distillers an A-

[Gillman]

Well, the review sounds good, and the bottle is attractive. To get noticeable extra richness, I wonder if the addition is less dilute than the process mentioned to date would suggest. I guess it depends how concentrated they decide to make it - maybe heat and agitation allow for a less dilute mixture than would otherwise be the case.

Gary

[ILLfarmboy]

I think the "green" aspect may be a bit of marketing fantasy.

I'm reminded of the 'Penn & Teller: Bullshit' episode that covered this sort of thing.

[Lost Pollito]

I'm reminded of the 'Penn & Teller: Bullshit' episode that covered this sort of thing.

You mean this one Brad?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk0K1zgCDtE

Sorry for the drift. FWIW, I really liked the sample I tasted. It has a wonderful nose.

[HighTower]

So has anyone seen this yet? It is supposedly in selected markets......KY is out as they don't ship. Binny's don't have it....so I can't order from them. Fred Noe is out here in Brisbane on June 1st and I want to sample this with him. If anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated!

Scott

[cowdery]

If Binny's doesn't have it yet they will. I think it's a national rollout, but it's still rolling.

[mrviognier]

I had a chance to try this at the Chicago Whiskey Fest. While I have to admit I liked it a whole lot better than most of the Beam lineup, I can't say I'd run out and buy it.

The whole process reminds me of lees filtration in winemaking. After you siphon off (kinda like dumping) the wine out of the barrel, there's a whole lot of sediment...referred to as lees. The stuff has the consistency of runny pudding. Usually we'd dump this down the drain. One of the wineries I managed was fairly large...about 250,000cs. At that scale, it made sense to hire a special rig that could separate the wine from the solids of the lees.

The wine reclaimed from this process was not nearly as high a quality as the rest of the wine we produced...and we'd end up back-blending the resulting wine into many of our 'better' wines. The economic advantage of incorporating the process was sound, the qualitative result...not so much. I suspect the sheer size of their operation - coupled with Bill Newlands wine background - made this a no-brainer in their eyes.

Coincidentally, the winery I mention was later sold to Beam...long after I left.

[wadewood]

I meet a regional sales manager from Beam last night. I asked how the process worked. He commented the machine was along lines of a paint shaker that you see in hardware stores -of course sized for barrels. He also said national launch would be Memorial day weekend.

[harshest]

Interesting reviews they have posted on their website. I like the very last one the best.

http://www.jimbeam.com/devils-cut/reviews

[Tucker]

Does how The Bourbon Review "imagines" Devil's Cut tastes really qualify as a review?

[Josh]

Does how The Bourbon Review "imagines" Devil's Cut tastes really qualify as a review?

This is the sound of me not saying anything about Bourbon Blog.

[kickert]

This is the sound of me not saying anything about Bourbon Blog.

[Josh]

While there is a bourbon blog review there... the review in question comes from bourbon review.

[HP12]

Saw JB Devil's Cut on the shelves of two Richmond, Virginia state run monopoly ABC stores yesterday. 750ml bottles going for about $26. I passed on buying a bottle as I await a tasting at a local bar or upcoming festival.

[craigthom]

I just got email promoting Devil's Cut, which was a nice change from when all Beam sent was NASCAR crap.

It included this line: "We never age our bourbons in anything but new charred American oak barrels."

Wait, I know who else uses nothing but new charred American oak barrels to make their bourbon: EVERYONE.

[Josh]

I opened my bottle last week. It's not bad. Reminds me of Booker's cut down to 90 proof.

[ThomasH]

I got a bottle of this tonight. Looking forward to trying it over the weekend!

Thomas

[harshest]

I just got a bottle yesterday, I enjoyed it. The $25 price tag seemed a little steep to me for what it is, but I still enjoyed it.