I’d like to thank the PR folks at Jim Beam for providing a review sample to me with no strings attached.
It has been a little over two and a half years (943 days) since I last took a look at Old Tub Bourbon from Jim Beam. And honestly, I don’t usually revisit things this soon. But then the announcement came out that Beam would be doing a limited edition national release of the product. And since I didn’t have an overly positive reaction to it last time around, I decided to reach out and see if they’d send over a sample instead of spending my own money on it. They were happy to do so.
Now, I never used to have the best opinion of Jim Beam. I think I was influenced by both the low opinion of others as I got into bourbon. That and I’ve come to realize that I had a definite lack of appreciation of grain forward bourbons. However, in the last three or four years, I’ve learned an appreciation for a well-crafted grain-forward bourbon. One where the barrel hasn’t entirely taken over. And honestly, there have been a lot more Beam bourbons on my shelf because of that.
So based on my previous rating of “meh” (as a reminder meh means fine whiskey just not to my tastes). I decided that with more people being able to sample this Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, it would only be intellectually honest if I also gave it another try. If my palate had evolved to the point where I liked it, it would be doing a disservice to you to not inform you of that fact.
Plus…free whiskey.
Old Tub Bottled in Bond: Revisited
Purchase Info: This was graciously provided by Jim Beam for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $22.99 for a 750 mL bottle.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.53
Details: Non-chill filtered. Non-carbon filtered. Bottled in Bond. 50% ABV.
Nose: Nutty with notes of caramel and mint/menthol.
Mouth: Warm in the mouth with notes of cinnamon candies, oak, and roasted peanuts.
Finish: On the shorter side of medium length. Peanut butter, milk chocolate, and oak.
Thoughts: When I am relaxing, I usually drink bourbon out of an old-fashioned glass. I had my initial pour in one of these glasses, it was delicious. To me, this bourbon doesn't fare as well in a Glencairn glass. But that's ok, I hate drinking out of a Glencairn. I'm upgrading this to a like.
I asked the PR guy and he assured me that this is the same juice that they sell at the gift shop, just now more widely available. I guess it just goes to show that our palates are constantly evolving. Two and a half years ago, I was just starting to like grain-forward bourbons. But as I tried more of them (everything from some of the Willett brands to Beam to a lot of the more inexpensive Heaven Hill stuff), I developed an affinity toward them. Sure I don’t like them nearly as much as a $100 15-year-old barrel-proof bourbon, but I totally grade on a curve. This makes a decent everyday sip when neat and a more-than-decent mixer. They recommend an Old Fashioned and I will happily concur with that.
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