Last month, James B. Beam Distilling Co. unveiled a new version of its core-range Jim Beam Black bourbon. Unlike the original, this one carries a 7 year old age statement—making it six months older—and it’s also gotten a higher ABV, boosted from 43% to 45%. The bourbon is currently available for purchase nationwide at the suggested price of $25.
Jim Beam Black has always been the older sibling of the classic Beam White Label, and historically that status was backed by an age statement. As early as the 70s, Beam Black was stated as being 101 months old (just under 8 and a half years) and was bottled at 45% ABV. Over the ensuing decades, the bourbon would undergo some changes: First the age statement was lowered to 8 years old, then later the strength would similarly drop to 43%. In 2014, the blend comprised 6.5 year old liquid on average, and the age statement was dropped completely from the label. That decision was due to the shortage of aged liquid that became an industry-wide phenomenon when the whiskey renaissance caught virtually everyone off-guard. That shortage is now easing, allowing Jim Beam Black to get an age statement back.
Master distiller Fred Noe says the goal of the new version is to “bring Jim Beam Black back to where it was when a lot of us grew up in the industry,” when those earlier versions served as a point of inspiration. Fred and his son Freddie, also master distiller, started by blind tasting through older batches of Beam Black—with varying proofs and age statements—alongside the Jim Beam blending team. They found that the liquid peaked at around 7 years old and worked best at 45% ABV: carrying stronger caramel and vanilla flavors with a thicker viscosity and more robust finish.
They opted to blend the final product using a cross section of barrels taken from different floors of its rickhouse. That same process—which was instituted at the distillery by Fred's father, the legendary Booker Noe—is said to foster a greater consistency of flavor from bottle to bottle. It’s the same process used to blend White Label.
This release is just the latest chapter in Beam’s ongoing move toward using older liquid, which kicked off in 2019 with the introduction of Knob Creek 12 year old bourbon. That one, which finished in second place in our Top 20 Whiskies of 2020 list, came after years of supply shortages, which saw Knob Creek completely run out of juice in 2009 and subsequently remove the age statement from its 9 year old bourbon in 2016. Since then Beam has also released bourbons aged 15 and 18 years, along with a 10 year old rye which launched just weeks ago.
What Does The New Jim Beam Black Taste Like?
Freddie calls the new 7 year old bottling an evolution of the Jim Beam formula, touting a deeper complexity and more barrel influence than Beam White Label and the younger Beam Black. We put that claim to the test, tasting the three whiskeys together in a blind flight. Our panelists, tasting blind as always, found the new version does indeed have more complexity than the other two, with a stronger vanilla presence and notably smoother texture. The full notes are below.
Jim Beam 7 year old Black Bourbon, Reviewed
Score: 92
ABV: 45%
SRP: $25
Orange marmalade, lemon grove, and sweetness of raisin bread on the nose, tempered by oak tannins. The palate offers balanced spice and nuttiness, and vanilla-chocolate ice cream draped in warm fudge. Chocolate notes keep coming, along with a light pecan nuttiness. The texture is rounded and smooth, with an agreeable lightness that doesn’t sacrifice structure or depth. A long, pleasant finish of orange and vanilla, balanced by earthy notes of leather and black pepper.—DF
