Information Request: Beam's Collectors Edition XV

[AusinKroe]

I don't want this to sound like I price request so let me be up frront, I could care less how much the bottle is worth.

Today, after seeing my bourbon collection, my father gave me an old bottle that he had lying around from when his father passed. It is in a box and it is marked as "Beam's Collector's Edition XV 10 years old". The bottle has a painting by Frederick Remington on the front. There is a tax stamp an the bottom of the bottle seems to indicate 1979.

I haven't taken a sip yet but I did open it to take a whiff. It smelled pretty good.

Does anyone have any information about this bourbon? I assume it was a product of Jim Beam but I can't tell what portion of the market it filled. Was this a premium bourbon of the time or was it just a marketing gimmick? I'm hoping to know what the best bourbons tasted like decades ago so I can have something to compare the new stuff to. Any info would be a great help. Either way I'm going to drink it, I just want to know how this would have compared to other drams in years past.

Thanks.

[barturtle]

10yo Beam from around that time is some of the nicest bourbon I've had. Enjoy.

[BBQ+Bourbon]

Welcome to the forum.

Beam from that era is some fine bourbon. What's great about decanters from Beam is that 1) they are typically screw tops meaning the bourbon usually survives and 2) they are plentiful and inexpensive. It seems like people bought those decanters thinking they would gain value over time so everybody kept them.

If you'd like to find more information, search the site for "beam decanter". They have been discussed at length in the past.

[Josh]

Welcome to the forum.

Beam from that era is some fine bourbon. What's great about decanters from Beam is that 1) they are typically screw tops meaning the bourbon usually survives and 2) they are plentiful and inexpensive. It seems like people bought those decanters thinking they would gain value over time so everybody kept them.

I like to think of them as the Beanie Babies of the Bourbon world.

[DeanSheen]

I like to think of them as the Beanie Babies of the Bourbon world.

Wait, I thought that was Makers Mark?

As to the collector point, I see tons of these locally for sale usually empty. Some of the prices are pretty funny.

[squire]

If I haven't already said so AK, welcome aboard. The last time I sampled one of these decanter Bourbons was too long ago to venture a taste memory so I look forward to your tasting notes.

[AusinKroe]

So I finally got around to tasting the bottle. Sorry if my palate is not that well developed. I have more types of bourbon than I know what to do with and I am still learning.

Nose: Vanilla, wet oak, cherries, caramel, lightly toasted wood.

Taste: Very light, nougat, milk chocolate, new oak, vanilla. Everything is a light taste. It really doesn't have much power but it is very smooth.

Finish: Dry. Medium. It has some lasting power and it seems to fade away into un-sauced or spice pulled pork.

Very interesting overall but not something I would pay much for. Maybe my palate is unrefined or my discriptions are a bit off but it seems like an oddball. Nice nose, rather bland taste, and an interesting finish.

Thanks for the info guys. Glad to have a little more knowledge about a bottle sitting on my shelf.

[proof and age]

Is the age stated in months or years? I have seen both ways, just wondering.

[AusinKroe]

The age statement is in years.