Jim Beam - Black: Double Aged (8 year old)

Nose: The nose on this is between light and medium and has notes of corn and alcohol and it has a medicinal astringency to it. Palate: This has a pretty decent mouthfeel, although it is more on the thin side, and the first sip was flavorful without much heat. As is often the case, the taste on this was nothing like the nose, which was bland and uninviting at best. The flavors tend to run on the dry side, so there is a decent amount of oak and some burnt flavors mixed in with the usual caramel and vanilla. The finish isn’t super long and lands right in the middle range. It has warmth but no harsh or burning heat. On the finish, it picks up some dark chocolate and there’s a decent amount of rye spiciness. There’s nothing terribly interesting or unique about this, but is very serviceable as a daily drinker. Comment: This is 86 proof. It is Beam’s “Double Aged” version of their regular Jim Beam, so it is aged 8 years. Or, at least it was……this is an older bottle. They no longer put the age statement on it and it is called “Extra Aged” instead of “Double Aged”. Internet sources suspect that it is now a 6 year old. Like all the standard Jim Beam products, the mashbill on this is 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley. As I’ve stated in previous reviews, I’ve never been a huge Beam fan. This certainly isn’t bad (and, I wouldn’t classify regular Beam as “bad” either….I just don’t care for it), but there’s also nothing that makes it stand out in the very crowded price range ($20) where it lives. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the Jim Beam Double Oak from the other day, which I though had a lot more going on, flavor-wise. So….I bought this several years ago and a “hole-in-the-wall” liquor store. It is a 375 bottle. They had two of them taped together and were selling them for $20….BUT…..if you bought another one, you only paid a penny for it. SO…..I basically got each 375 bottle for $5 a piece. At that price, I truly can’t complain and it was well worth purchasing. While I can sip it neat without any problem, I also don’t feel bad about using it as a mixer in a cocktail. Bottom line: always check out those obscure liquor stores…..you never know what you’ll find!