Jim Beam Distiller's Cut

Jim Beam Distiller's Cut is, quite simply, the best Beam bourbon you can buy that doesn't say Booker's or Knob Creek on the label. And for $23 a bottle this should be a regular Beam product, instead of a limited edition! Given the proof is the same as JB Bonded, I half expected the same bourbon profile, but the DC is an incredible sip at the price point. I image the non chill filtering is providing much of the additional quality and flavor here. Speaking of which, name another NCF bourbon at the $20 price point! Enjoyed neat in a Glencairn, no water added. On the nose you can immediately tell this isn't your standard Beam, and that’s a very good thing! There are the delicious bourbon smells of sweet vanilla frosting, caramel, leather, and toasted barrel, but what really surprised me for Beam is the sweet floral and fruity scents, maybe some cherry mixed with something tropical. All combined together and you get a fairly complex nose that you might think would come from a bourbon at twice this price. On the palate, you immediately notice the thick velvety oily coating mouth feel, which I am sure is a byproduct of the NCF. It's the type of mouth feel you don’t get typically unless you spend significantly more on a bourbon! If NCF brings out this kind of quality in such a low price bourbon why aren’t more done this way!! Flavors are similarly complex and bold. There are the typical Beam flavors, albeit more savory than any regular Beam, of caramel, sweet vanilla and toasted barrel, but adds more complex notes of cinnamon and pepper, maybe some chocolate and a lovely light fruity note. The taste is both slightly sweet and a bit tart, pretty balanced. And for a 50% ABV, the DC is very smooth and drinkable neat, somewhat unexpected honestly at this price. Longer on the palate you get a nice peppery heat that lingers a bit. Again for a $23 bourbon, given the quality here, I feel like I could easily be tasting a much more expensive pour! While not as intense or deep, the flavors here are approaching my $38 bottle of 14-year-old Knob Creek Single Barrel. Not bad at all for a 5 to 6-year-old Beam!! The finish is also very nice with a sweet oaky flavor with light tobacco that lingers a medium to longer length. Not much to complain about here! Overall I must say at $23 I am highly impressed with this Jim Beam bourbon! The nose and the palate make me think I’m really drinking something special until I remind myself I barely paid over $20 for this. I am sure most of the extraordinary quality is coming from the NCF attribute preserving rich oils and flavors, which again makes me wonder why other inexpensive bourbons don’t employ the same technique! I could easily see myself drinking this on the daily but being a "limited edition", I almost feel like I should go easy on my pours. If Beam would make this a regularly stocked product going forward, I could see it being one of my favorite every day sips to rival my current daily favorite Turkey 101 or Buffalo Trace. Beam has made a damn fine bourbon in Distiller's Cut! Cheers!

BACKGROUND: Because I enjoy Jim Beam's higher-end offerings like Booker's and Knob Creek and limited releases like Repeal Batch, Bonded, and Double Oak, I thought I'd try the Distiller's Cut that the company produces. Unfortunately, locating a bottle proved a challenge as it appears the line may have been cut back or discontinued and no longer appears on the Jim Beam website. I luckily spotted a dust-covered box in a Manhattan package store while on vacation and flew it back home to Alabama a few days ago. The 100 proof bourbon is aged between five and six years and is non-chill filtered in order to give fuller flavor. Released in November 2017, Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe personally selected the bourbon used to produce the line, which resulted in its name. It retails for $22.99. NOSE: The traditional Beam funk, which I enjoy, and oak dominate the nose. There is a good bit of citrus/orange peel and an underlying corn scent, as well. Though many reviewers have noted a heavy ethanol nose, I did not detect a significant alcohol sting. PALATE: Beyond the traditional caramel/butterscotch flavor that most bourbons possess, cherry and oak make their presence well known. Rye pepper is strong in the back of the throat. There is a surprising lack of the peanut shell/dust flavor that has become a Jim Beam trademark. The mouth feel and viscosity is a bit thin. FINISH: A medium-to-long finish results in lingering rye spice and a bit of Big Red gum cinnamon. FINAL ASSESSMENT: The Distiller's Cut would make an excellent addition to my rotation of daily sippers, which makes me sad that it has proven so difficult to find. Perhaps that difficulty results from the fact that Alabama is a heavily-regulated state, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency does not include it on the list of stocked products. If you enjoy Beam's higher-end products as I do, the Distiller's Cut will fit right into your wheelhouse. I give it four out of five cork pops.

Since this is not sold in AZ, I couldn't pass up the chance to snag it while visiting Vegas. I will say in advance that I usually enjoy Beam whiskeys. They are very much like pizza for me; even when they're bad, they're still pretty good. So I'm probably going to be a little more forgiving in my rating than some. On to the review: Typical "Beam" nose of cherry, oak, vanilla, and a big dose of the peanut "funk" which luckily comes off as the peanut brittle of the higher end JB products vs the wet cardboard of the bottom shelf offerings. If you have ever had Beam products, you know what I am talking about. On the palate it's more of the same, matching the nose dead on which is positive. The finish is where things take a bit of a downturn. Some prickly ethanol heat and overly bitter oak come crashing in and harsh things up, which is a bit of a bummer. Might be a good thing that the finish is on the short side of medium. While this one is a step above some lower end JB expressions, it ultimately lacks the refinement of others. Kind of tastes like a watered down Old Grandad 114. And since that is the case, for the same price I'd rather get all the richness of flavor of the OGD114 if I'm going to have to live with some harshness either way. Going back to the pizza analogy, if this were pizza, it would be a Totino's party pizza. Not quite up to rebuy status for me.

Look: looks like a pretty typical bourbon, burnt orange, light edges, slight alcohol legs. Nose: Oak, rye spice, then a deep breath and I get more vanilla/sweetness. A great, albeit not unique, nose. Going in for a deep nosing, some fruity notes come out and nuttiness. Palate: so much nuttiness, it’s like the unsalted almonds I buy at the store. After the nut flavor, some slight spice intermingles with oak and vanilla for a nice mild dram. Finish: Vanilla on the finish, lasting a long time. Little heat, slightly drying but nothing crazy. Not a lot of bitterness. The second sips finish gives me more spiciness, the site review nails the black pepper feel. Overall: This is a great bourbon, especially when considering the price. The nuttiness really pops out to me more than any bourbon I’ve experienced, and all the flavors and heat level make for a very pleasant experience.

I have to agree with something I read somewhere that this Whiskey has a flavor profile very similar to Booker's, which at this price point is saying something. This is delicious, easy sippin' whiskey from start to finish (which btw, is drier than a desert bone). Big producers like Beam often get things wrong with all of their variety and flavor profiles ... but not with this one. If anyone gets this confused with the Devil's Cut - don't. That one is truly something to be avoided and the difference between the two is Night and Day. $25 in PA but has disappeared never to be heard from again apparently.

im Beam Distillers Cut is supposed to be a limited edition but I still see it on the shelves. This one clocks in at 100 proof and runs about 23 bucks. If you like the Jim Beam signature flavor you will definitely enjoy this as it is turned up a few notches. The color is a nice amber. The aroma is caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, spices, and oak. The tastes is the same as the aroma to me. The finish is medium to long with a spiciness and vanilla. I know this is not a bottled in bond but it sure could be one being a 5 year age and 100 proof. I liked this so much a put a few bottles in my bunker.