Jim Beam Review

We've done a lot of community reviews on /r/bourbon, hitting all the major producers and most of the popular bourbons/ryes. One glaring omission though is Beam's flagship product, plain old Jim Beam white label which they proudly market as the world's number one bourbon. That claim is rather funny though since technically I'd say Jack Daniel's holds that title. At any rate, it's definitely the world's number one selling Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and there's something to said about that. 

Jim Beam was the very first bourbon I ever tried. When I try to get my head around why this product is so popular, this being my first taste of bourbon is really all that needs to be said. I don't know why it was my first but my best guess it because it's low proof / easy to drink, fairly low cost, readily available in small sizes, and Beam is a well known brand with a good old blue collar type appeal. 

Jim Beam: 'Merica, fuck yeah.

No Age Statement (so at least 4 years); 40% ABV; $5 (200ml)

Nose: Smells like a young, low proof bourbon with mostly wood sugar sweets and new-make corn/grain notes.

Taste: Just like the nose with a little added rye spice and a hefty dose of peanuts. The youth shines through with some fruity new make, raw corn/grain, and typical vanilla/caramel sweetness. It's as thin as you'd expect from an 80 proof bourbon. 

Thoughts: The best thing I can say is it's better than Jack Daniels but that's not saying a whole lot. The low proof, traditional Beam peanut funk, and young age aren't doing it any favors. Even in this price range, there are much better buys. If you want to go low proof, Four Roses yellow label walks all over this or even better, many of the bottled in bond products like Evan Williams or Very Old Barton are even cheaper and much more solid whiskeys.

Rating: D

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.