Jim Beam Black Label?

[weller_tex]

The Black Label is a solid, whiskey by all measures. Good neat, with a cube or two, or mixed with ginger ale. I do prefer the Beam White 7 yr to it, though. A little more sweetness, oilier, not as dry, and more of the Beam house style, AKA "Beam yeasty funk" (of which I am one of 3 people on the planet who likes that aspect of Beam bourbons. )

[weller_tex]

There are better overall bourbons at $20, OGD 114 is around $22..but JBB has a unique profile of sweet, funky, apple juice, and chocolate. I like it.

[TheNovaMan]

I'm not really a Beam hater, but I like OGD BIB quite alot better than Beam Black.

[Parkersback]

Beam Black (in the old style square bottles) is on sale for $13.78 at my favorite whisk(e)y monger so I pulled the trigger, and I am very glad I did. It'd been a while since I had it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's pretty sweet, but I never did mind that. My second pour of it was on the rocks, and to be honest, I preferred it neat. It generally came off as... well, exactly as it is: the 8 year old little brother of its' bad-ass elder brother, Booker's. I just had a pour of Booker's in a bar a week or so ago and you can definitely taste the resemblance. I happen to think Booker's is excellent, excellent whiskey, and Beam Black is a worthy little cousin. Especially at $15 out the door. I put it in the category of some of the HH Bonds I like: such good, sturdy table whiskey.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Parkersback

[squire]

Worthy indeed and a bargain at that price.

[TheNovaMan]

Does current Beam Black come in something other than a square bottle?

[Alden]

Does current Beam Black come in something other than a square bottle?

[Parkersback]

Does current Beam Black come in something other than a square bottle?

I was making reference to the new square bottle. The old square bottle was more squat, used a kind of old-timey presentation and vaguely resembled a Jack Daniel's bottle. The new one kind is taller and reminds me of the Bushmill's bottle.

[miller542]

I like pictures, so here we go. The best side-by-side I could find shows the current "double aged" bottle next to the previous bottle, only the design changed and not what's in the bottle. Prior to 8yr/86proof, it was a 7yr 90proof. Going back further, it was 101mth 90 proof and an 8yr 90 proof. And as seen in the pics, when first introduced it was called Beam's Black Label. FWIW, I've only had the 8yr/86proof and I also don't know the exactly timing of each change, so I'll leave that to the folks with more experience and a better memory than I.

My brother and I used to love Beam Black as a great value pour, both as a mixer and straight. That was until we did a blind tasing against four other similarly priced bourbons. Beam Black came in last. Since then, I've often picked other mid-shelfers instead of Beam Black.

Edited May 16, 2013 by miller542

[squire]

Which brand came in first?

[miller542]

Which brand came in first?

Buffalo Trace won hands down. RR101, EC12, and Bulleit all tied in the middle, and Beam Black a clear last place by everyone's opinion. Everyone loved the full, sweet flavor of Buffalo Trace while RR101 had a bit too much proof when compared to the rest of the group.

[squire]

That's a good group for a blind tasting. I was curious because when I have put Beam Black in a blind tasting it was always appreciated but not enough to win.