Sometimes there isn’t much to say about a bourbon. Allegedly Jim Beam is the world’s best selling bourbon, oops, sorry, “Number 1” bourbon. “Best selling” is something that could be backed up by data. Whereas “Number 1” is a sort of nebulous non-specific claim that looks good in marketing materials. They make lots of claims about their craftsmanship and seven generations of distillers and the like, but when the product tastes like this, it’s kind of like bragging about generations of riveters all working on the Titanic…
Jim Beam is a pretty big brand, with a number of bourbons and flavoured bourbons. While I have some desire to try their non-flavoured lines, we’ll be postponing trying the flavoured stablemates for as long as possible. Being able to make barley or corn taste like the sea or maple is a feat. Pouring a bunch of shitty chemicals into your crap make is just a capitalist fisting.
Here’s what we thought:
smell
Simon – sweet, maple, char
Goran – sharp, cotton candy, mint, floral
Ryan – hits hard, sweet, wood
neat
Simon – noise but not sound, burns back of throat, not that great
Goran – nutty, round, mellow finish, hazel at start, woodchip
Ryan – lacking in full flavour, no corn, lingering throat burn
splash
Simon – still doesn’t assemble properly
Goran – butter element gone, herbals stay
Ryan – no different
Jim Beam Original Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 40% 750ml – $26.95 – Kentucky
Try it? No. Buy it? No.
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