Review by: zSolaris
American Whiskey Reviews #67: Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Whiskey
Distillery: Jim Beam
Region: Kentucky
ABV: 40%
Age: 4 year.
Color: 0.8, Deep Gold.
Nose (according to the wife) You get a bit of black sugar, a bit of maple syrup, and a bit of coffee with a side helping of rubber.
Palate: There’s really not a whole lot going on here. Fairly bland with the only stand out note being of sweet cereal.
Finish: Medium in length. It’s pretty bad with a very strong ethanol and plasticky taste that tastes of paint thinner. There’s a little bit of cream and oak that pops up whenever the paint thinner isn’t so strong.
Conclusion: This week, the wife and I made the trek up to Minnesota for our favorite fall activity, what we like to call “chasing fall colors”. I grabbed a couple of minis I’ve had around the house for ages to enjoy in the great outdoors including this Jim Beam. I have to say, I probably should have brought something else. The nose is fairly quite nice and the palate is inoffensive but the finish is so awful. That strong ethanol and plastic note just ruins things. I can’t say I’m a fan at all, but at least the picture came out nice.
Final Score: 50.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 
