Now begins the rush for acquisition. But something tickled my brain about this bourbon , someone trying to disprove its status as a modern cult classic. That caught my attention. And even though the results showed that a majority albeit a very slight majority of the tasters preferred one of the most popular and competitively priced bourbons over a more expensive super-premium whiskey, I was naturally skeptical.
Although Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 Year Old has been garnering the most attention, there were two other Pappy rarities that have also been selling for thousands of dollars among collectors and investors: the 15 Year Old and the 20 Year Old.
But good luck finding these bourbons at those prices. Having determined it was Beam against Pappy, I decided to do my own taste test, with a side-by-side comparison between Jim Beam Black, and all three of the top tier Pappy Van Winkle bourbons. Obtaining a bottle of Jim Beam Black was no problem, but acquiring the Pappy Van Winkle 15, 20 and year-old whiskies proved a slight challenge. From there, they determine which retailers get that inventory, and distribute accordingly…We know our whiskey can be difficult to find…Many retailers use a lottery or a waiting list to sell our stock.
We recommend you get on as many waiting lists and enter as many lotteries as you can. Whiskies in hand, A friend covertly poured equal amounts of the four spirits into identical tasting glasses. With the four glasses in front of me, and not knowing which bourbon was in which glass, I began by nosing each one before taking a sip.
After making my initial notes, I took another sip, but this time, swallowed it then breathed through my nose, thereby getting even more of the subtle flavors of the bourbons. Being wheated whiskies, it was comparatively easy to sort out the three Pappy Van Winkle pours; they were soft and slightly sweet, in varying degrees.
That left the Jim Beam, which uses rye in its mashbill rather than wheat. It had a different type of sweetness, especially on the nose, with a hint of smoke. We have the latest on today's big changes at johnniewalker, a chat with the founders of LostLanternWhiskey, and a royal "oops" story from TheGlenGrantscotch's Dennis Malcolm! Took a few extra days, but we have a new WhiskyCast podcast in time for the weekend! Paul Pacult joins us with the story behind his new history of buffalotrace.
We'll also have the latest whisky news and much more! Listen with your favorite podcast app or download it at WhiskyCast.
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Links: Jim Beam. Leave a Comment Click here to cancel reply. Presenting Brand Partners. WhiskyCast on Instagram. But it was released with an 8-year age statement and positioned as a more premium bourbon than the more recognizable standard white label expression.
Jim Beam is produced by Beam Suntory — the third-largest producer of alcoholic drinks in the world. In , Japanese-based Suntory acquired Beam Inc. Suntory was the first company to distill whisky in Japan and has a history of production that goes back to the s. It is only when the barrels are dumped and bottled years down the road are those decisions made. The distillers will be working with a mash recipe — in this case, the Jim Beam or standard bourbon recipe.
The Jim Beam mash bill contains 75 percent corn, 13 percent rye and 12 percent malted barley. As with the mash, the distillation of both products will be identical. Again, the production team will not know where the new make they are distilling will end up. Beam Suntory operates three distilleries in Kentucky — two of which produce spirit that will be used for Jim Beam products.
The mash bills and fermentation will be identical to this point. Distillers often note that each still has its own unique contributions to flavor — even when all other inputs are otherwise identical. At this point, the young whiskey is most likely not destined for a specific bottling, so its fate is yet to be determined.
A little time in the barrel is the biggest thing that sets these two brands apart. The white dog or newmake spirit will come off one of the three stills at the Booker Noe or Jim Beam plants. This spirit will be racked into new American charred oak barrels, as required by U. Jim Beam uses No. Bourbon barrels are made from American white oak staves. Exposure to open flame creates a layer of char on the insides of those staves.
Coopers, or barrel makers, use a scale from 1 to 5 to determine how thick that layer of char will be. These ridges resemble the bumps on the back of an alligator. After the barrels are filled, they will be transported to a maturation facility — one of the first divergences of these heretofore nearly identical barrels.
Both the Booker Noe and Jim Beam distilleries have multiple barrel warehouses. The maturation facilities utilize the multi-storied wooden rickhouse structures that are common throughout Kentucky. Each warehouse has its own micro-climate based on its location on the site, its orientation, number of stories, construction materials, building age, etc.
And within each structure, barrels at different locations will have a distinct taste out of the barrel — even if they originated from the same still run and were stored on the same day. Through decades of experience, the production and blending teams recognize the sweet spots in each warehouse — the areas where the micro-climate is just perfect for maturing whiskey.
By utilizing these beautiful barrels, the blending team can develop unique extensions — like Jim Beam Black — that have a different flavor profile than other offerings. But we can make some educated guesses when it comes to age profiles.
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