Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece

Neat. Opened two days. This bottle sat on the shelf of my local liquor store for two plus years. After another whiskey drinker told me this was one of his favorite pours of all time, I had my wife get me this bottle for Christmas. The Sherry finish on this thing is nuts. If you told me they straight pour Sherry into the barrels I would believe you. These barrels had to be wet. The Sherry on the nose is just awesome. Straight raspberry and strawberry preserves. Mix that in with the typical Jim Beam nuttiness and all the baking spices and cinnamon and oak and it’s like a peanut butter - jelly sandwich on toast. The oak is the next best element on this nose. The oak is very strong and prevalent but it is also like a young, fresh wood. It almost brightens the whiskey up compared to the Sherry, which is an odd thing to say about oak. The whiskey flavors themselves are more stereotypical Jim Beam. Nutty, cinnamon, etc. The bourbon itself is kind of the weakest element here or at least muted by the competition. The texture is very creamy and the Sherry lights up the tongue on impact. Mid palate is all these delicious berries. It’s a medley of fruits. Cherries, raspberries, strawberries and maybe blueberries. Just delicious. It’s all covered in cinnamon and powdered sugar too. Back of the experience transitions more to the Jim Beam. Nuttiness and caramel. Then the finish is all the fresh oak and vanilla. Again, the oak part of the experience actually lightens the direction of the flavors. Maybe the best Sherry finished bourbon I have ever had. I honestly can’t think of a good competitor for this. As good as the finish is, I do wonder if the actual bourbon behind it compliments the finish or is it being extremely elevated by the finish. The 10 years and oak is really nice but all the flavors outside of the age just take such a backseat. Very impressed though and very happy to have it in the collection.

A PX finished bourbon...wwhaaaaatt!? Yes this NAS Jim Beam took "extra aged" bourbon and finished it in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It clocks in at 50% ABV, or 100 proof for you bourbon lovers, is a natural color of what I would call rust, and I have no word on if it is chill filtered or not. The nose give a big blast of sherry sweetness up front with a noticeable hit of alcohol if you are too eager and don't let it settle down for a few minutes first. Dark dried sherry fruits and a corn sweetness. Cotton candy (first time I ever really picked up cotton candy before). There is some rye hiding in the background. Something like maple or maybe slightly burnt caramel. Low levels of vanilla show up with time. Very interesting to nose. That palate is equally interesting. A touch hot on the first sip, but you get used to it pretty fast. Sweet syrup and sherried American oak in spades. Cinnamon and clove. If you really swish it around your mouth the base bourbon notes really come forward in a big way. Somewhat oily mouthfeel and it's slightly mouthwatering. A fairly long finish. Dry with caramel, dark sherried fruits, oak and some lingering heat. This was difficult to figure out early on due to the very different profiles at work. Bourbon and sherry are not two styles I would think to put together but it works. I feel like a better quality bourbon like an Elijah Craig or an Evan Williams would have really shined with a PX finish, or even an Oloroso finish. I know lots of people swear by JB but it's not my cup of tea. Still this was damn good. Not $200 good, which makes me glad I was able to get a 1oz sample from Lee, who In turn got it from someone else I believe. 4.25 all the way

Nose - Strong oaky vanilla, light caramel sweet, hint of roasted peanuts, lightly waxy, faint dark cherry twizzlers in the background. Taste - Sweet dark luxardo cherry sweet makes a strong appearance on the palate, cinnamon spice & heat, caramelized vanilla sugar, oak, creamy vanilla latte foam sweetness. Finish - Lingering cinnamon spice heat, oaky, light bitter, sweet dried cherry sweet, faint bitter peanut shell/skins appear again. Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - I struggled to get any PX influence on this one in the nose & apparently all it took was a single sip to maybe break the surface tension or something? It was very weak on the nose and "different" on the palate. It seemed very one dimensional sweet of luxardo cherry versus dark fruits and chocolate like I usually get from sherry finished whiskies. To me this tasted like they just took their bonded bourbon, finished it briefly in px sherry, bottled it in a fancy bottle, & sold it in a fancy box for a significant markup. I will admit the extra finishing helps neutralize the peanuty notes I typically get from Beam stuff, but didn't completely get rid of it. This wasn't a bad dram by any means, and of course I wouldn't turn it down if offered, but I don't think this is something I'd want to spend my money on getting an entire bottle of.

This review was transferred from the Barreled app. I also tried this again at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. I added an update at the end of my original review: Let's face it, Jim Beam is the Budweiser of bourbons. If you forget that simple analogy, forget the high price point and take this bourbon on its own merits you'll get a delicious, sweet Scotch-like whiskey that puts a big, ole smile on your face. The presence of rye and the fact it's 100 proof assures you its bourbon, but the Pedro Ximemez sherry casks add an amazing dimension that takes it from boring Budweiser to a brilliant craft brew. Spend the money and give it a try. It won't disappoint you. UPDATE from 4/17/18: I was able to give this another try at Whiskyfest and still found it delightful. There was a more pronounced bit of oak cask at play than I recall. It makes sure you don’t forget you’re drinking a Beam product. The sherry cask notes calm the rye level perfectly. It’s a 4.25-4.5 star dram, but I should adjust my opinion and say that it’s not really worth the asking price on the secondary market now IMO. It’s worth a try at a bar if you can get it for under $12-15, though. Cheers.

Drammers Club Pour. Aged around 10 years with a 1 month finish in PX casks. Great stuff, as close one can get to a bourbon sherry bomb. Nose: Chocolate, Caramel, Toffee, Raisins, Dates, Maple Syrup, Figs, Plums, Cinnamon, Cherries, Grass, Anise, Cotton Candy, Peaches, Oranges, Gingerbread, Dill, Vanilla, Flowers, Peanuts Palate: Chocolate; Oranges, Cherries, Caramel, Prunes, Cherries, Maple Syrup, Cloves, Pepper, Christmas Cake, Ginger, Oak, Bubble Gum Finish: Caramel, Peanuts, Citrus, Christmas Cake, Chocolate, Cranberries, Toffee, Maple Syrup, Figs, Dates

Ce bourbon est excellent, bien balancé. Mais en vaut-il le cout? Oui , mais seulement à cause de l'emballage , sans plus. Achetez-vous le single barrel à la place....... Je trouve dommage à dire mais...... Je le trouve meilleur. Par contre, si vous voulez faire découvrir le bourbon à quelqu'un, ces une bonne façons de lui faire aimer...... et d'épater la galerie.