Review No.21. Jim Beam Black 6 Year Old

There a numerous variants of Jim Beam and the unique selling point of this one is that it has been aged for 6 years.  According to the rules in order to be called a straight bourbon it must be aged for a minimum of 2 years.  This is a 6 year old hence the use of the term ‘triple aged’ on the label.  I was intrigued to see how this differed to the standard Jim Beam White Label as I believe that this is a 6 year version of the White Label.  I haven’t done this but it would be interesting to try these side by side to see what impact the ageing process has had.

Whisky: Jim Beam Black 6 Year Old Triple Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 43% vol.

Nose: Brown sugar, cinnamon, dried fruits, orange, oak

Taste: Bitter oak, dried fruits, some spice and cinnamon

Finish: dried fruits and bitter oak

Score: 2.5

Summary: The main difference I can identify between this and the White Label is that the wood influence is much more present, as expected.  However, I found that this brought with it some bitter/sourness which lingered in the background and in the aftertaste.  I would prefer a bit more sweetness (maybe vanilla essence) to counterbalance the wood influence but overall I think it just about works.  This is a decent step up from the standard White Label.

Scoring scale: My scores reflect a balance of the overall experience, availability and cost for a whisky,

1 – not to my preference

2 – tastes fine but does not excite me

3 – more to my liking and would revisit occasionally

4 – very much to my liking and would consider as a regular feature on my whisky shelf

5 – permanent feature on my whisky shelf

Image source: www.thewhiskyexchange.com