Here we are.  A whiskey blogger and a bottle of the world’s best selling bourbon, Jim Beam.  The name is legendary in the bourbon world.  Everybody knows Jim Beam white label.  It’s everywhere.  No one’s ever complained of not finding a bottle.  It’s Beam’s standard offering, aged 4 years and bottled at 80 proof.  This one’s generally considered a mixer.  Most JB White Label fans I know love it on the rocks, including myself.  However, for the sake of review on this blog I’ll nose and taste this bourbon in a Glencairn whisky glass.

On the nose I get light vanilla, some oak and caramel, and a very small hit of banana.  The oak note was heavier than I expected it to be for a 4-year old bourbon.  The entry carries a little heat, with sweet oak and slight vanilla and caramel flavors.  I can also detect some corn in the glass.  At only 40% abv, Jim Beam White Label feels pretty thin and slightly watery.  The finish is short with a bit of dry oak and sweet corn.

The most *ahem* difficult part of running this website is tasting a lot of great whiskies, including premium and super-premium releases.  I sometimes overlook the standard offerings of brands, and that’s a mistake.  I bet more times than not, Jim Beam White Label is among the first bourbons a whiskey newbie tastes, and you know what, it’s not bad.  If it were horrible, I doubt Jim Beam would be the mega-brand it currently is.  Sure, you’re not going to find an intense, complex depth of flavor here.  What you get is the classic flavors of straight bourbon whiskey, albeit in a slightly muted way.