Not much to say that hasn’t already been said, this is the much revered jewel of the dusty turkey lineup. I pull out a bottle of special turkey every year on Thanksgiving and this one was nearly empty so what better way to polish it off than with a hol…
Not much to say that hasn't already been said, this is the much revered jewel of the dusty turkey lineup. I pull out a bottle of special turkey every year on Thanksgiving and this one was nearly empty so what better way to polish it off than with a holiday review. Shout out to pappy gift cards and /r/scotchswap (RIP) for making this possible.
Nose:All the classic bourbon flavors but in highly decadent forms - butterscotch cream, caramel syrup, vanilla cake frosting, and a touch of baking spices. A wonderful well rounded nose. It's woody but the wood is heavy handed towards the sweet side which is just the way I like it.
Taste:All of the same from the nose - it tastes like super condensed bourbon. This is a common theme I find in great dusty bourbons like this, it's like someone figured out how to make a bourbon reduction. The sweets, the wood, the spice, it all just has more pop than anything you can buy off the shelf today.
Thoughts:This is a master class bourbon and I think deserved of the reputation as the pinnacle of Wild Turkey whiskeys. This isn't the first time I've reviewed Cheesy Gold Foil and I was a bit more criticalthe last time I covered itbut here today, drinking the last dram out of this bottle, it's everything I could ask for in a bourbon.
Rating: A
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
Happy Thanksgiving, Bourbonrs! Every Thanksgiving I like to offer a challenge to fellow Bourbonrs. Take the day to crack open the bottle that has been sitting on the shelf for a “special occasion”! What fun…
Happy Thanksgiving, Bourbonrs! Every Thanksgiving I like to offer a challenge to fellow Bourbonrs. Take the day to crack open the bottle that has been sitting on the shelf for a “special occasion”! What fun is the bourbon hunt if you never take a break to enjoy the bottle.
If you need some pairing suggestions for your Thanksgiving meal you can find them here.
Post your pictures to Instagram or the Facebook group with #bourbonrthanksgiving. We have five Bourbonr taster glasses to give away.
This is a sad day in Bourbonr history. I’ve gone back and forth on this decision for weeks now. For the last six years, I’ve maintained the Pappy Van Winkle Release Map. It’s how a…
This is a sad day in Bourbonr history. I’ve gone back and forth on this decision for weeks now. For the last six years, I’ve maintained the Pappy Van Winkle Release Map. It’s how a majority of readers found Bourbonr. I’ve met a countless number of people that only know Bourbonr because of these maps. While the map was work to maintain, I enjoyed doing it. Unfortunately, the Pappy Van Winkle release map has run its course.
First, everyone is looking for Pappy these days. In 2013, when I started the map, Pappy was hard to find. But, with enough legwork, you could find a bottle. That has changed over the years. Everyone wants Pappy now. If there were dozens of people showing up to store releases in 2013, there are now thousands. That’s a good thing for bourbon. Secondly, stores have changed how they handle the release of Pappy Van Winkle. Most stores either hold raffles or sell bottles through their loyalty programs. This is a good solution for a problem with no great answers. However, spending thousands of dollars at a store isn’t bourbon hunting. The third issue I see is the retail price of Pappy Van Winkle. According to Wine-Searcher, the average price is up from $928 in November 2014 for a Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year to $1,651 in October of 2019. The statistic that’s missing, and more glaring, is the number of retailers that sell at (or close) to retail. My rough estimate is around 3%-4%. Finding a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle is rare. Finding a bottle at a reasonable markup doesn’t happen anymore.
Finally, the Van Winkles and parent company Sazerac have taken a hard stand against the bourbon secondary. This felt like an attack on bourbon communities that may also have buy/sell/trade. I.e. your local bourbon Facebook group. Don’t get me wrong. The secondary market is at best a grey area and at worst illegal. But, it served a specific purpose. Didn’t get a bottle of Van Winkle Rye but you did get a 20-year? You could trade. Sazerac’s main (stated) concern has been consumer protection from fakes or counterfeits. There’s no mention of adding anti-counterfeiting measures to the bottle. An open market has done a much better job at policing fakes. It was the secondary that caught multiple fake bottles and shut down counterfeiters. Not Buffalo Trace. There was also no mention of retailers that sell for prices 2x-3x the current market. Some distributors force retailers to buy thousands of dollars in products they don’t want. Or, empty bottle sales. My point, there are a lot of issues. Going after some of your most loyal and vocal fans doesn’t seem like the right path to take.
That was a little more long-winded than I like to be but I hope you understand the decision. There is one postscript point I’d like to make. Current Pappy and LE bourbon prices make people think they need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to taste great bourbon. I know that the Van Winkles and Buffalo Trace would agree with me saying: “That couldn’t be farther from the truth!” Buffalo Trace makes some of the best bourbon on the market today. Most Buffalo Trace brands remain hard to find. But, a regular bottle of Buffalo Trace still beats out most $100 bottles on the market. Here is my list of what I think people should be drinking. I’m not calling these Pappy replacements. These are just great, affordable bourbons.
Company: Jim BeamVol: 43%Age: 12 yearsClassification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon WhiskeyBreakdown: 77% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted barleyPrice: c. £35PreambleIn terms of timescale, revisiting the Jim Beam Signature Craft review after only j…
In terms of timescale, revisiting the Jim Beam Signature Craft review after only just over a year seems a little premature. However, as soon as we uploaded the review on our site, Jim Beam made the decision to discontinue the bourbon.
Now, there have been some quite simply hysterical and sensational rumours that our review was the final nail in the coffin and forced Beam HQ to withdraw it from sale immediately. You cannot hide away from the truth that what we write in our reviews has every distillery marketing department begging that our comments are positive. In the case of this review, we actually gave it the important BG thumbs up and both of us scored it a solid 7 out of 10 - so the discontinuation of this bourbon and our published review were just mere coincidences and we deny everything.
What we didn’t share in our original history comments of the review was that the Jim Beam Signature Craft 12-year-old bourbon was part of a whole collection of Signature Craft limited release small-batch bourbons but was the only permanent member of the group.
The craft collection included –
Quarter Cask – bourbons aged for at least 5 years and finished in a variety of quarter-size casks for at least an additional 4 years, 43% abv
Rare Spanish Brandy Finish – labelled as a bourbon whiskey and not a finished bourbon because it’s had the brandy added to it, 43% abv and aged 12 years
The Masterpiece – finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, 50% abv. No official age statement but likely between 10 and 12 years
Alongside the craft releases was a standalone Harvest Bourbon Collection. Fred Noe, Jim Beam’s 7th generation Master Distiller wanted to honour traditions of the past whilst charting new water for bourbon distilling. Many distillers were involved in distilling these unique grains which inevitably produced unique flavours. All were bottled in 375ml sized bottles, aged for 11 years and 45% abv. The releases were;
Soft Red Wheat
Brown Rice
Whole Rolled Oat
Triticale
High Rye
Six Row Barley
Our advice if you do happen to stumble across any of the Signature Craft range is to most definitely grab the opportunity to purchase while you still can. Enjoy!
Review Updated - November 2019
History
This is getting very difficult. The Signature Craft will be the 11th Jim Beam product we have reviewed on the site, and there is only so much history we can keep rehashing. So for this review, we are going to look at the distinguishing feature of the bourbon and run with that.
12 years old, that's a long time for a bourbon. In fact in bourbon years (think of it like dog years but less likely to shed on your carpet and chew your favourite trainers to bits) this is probably the equivalent of a 48-year-old man. Now here is the key question... does the fact this bourbon is aged longer make it better? Is there any correlation between a bourbons age and how good it is? Our answer would be - no. However, ask us if age makes a difference to the bourbon, and now you get a very quick - yes!
The key component to what makes a bourbon a bourbon is the barrel and the aging process. Sure the mash bill is very important, as is the water used & the barrel entry proof of the liquid. But until you put it in the barrel it can't actually be called bourbon. It needs to touch the inside of a new oak container before it gets the bourbon stamp. From there it's all about the interaction between the liquid and the wood. So the longer it interacts with it the more it will influence the end product - and that is where our stance comes from on the age. Just because the wood has longer to influence the bourbon it does not mean that influence is always to it's benefit. There is an excellent collection of industry views on the best age for a bourbon here at the Whiskey Wash website, we think it's well worth a read.
So will the Gents find those extra years in the barrel a positive? Or are we just going to be tasting a forest full of wood...
The Review:
For this review, we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass
Nose
What we got –Very woody - splinters come to mind immediately, caramel, cherry, cinnamon, vanilla. If you wanted to introduce someone to a typical bourbon nose then this is the perfect one.
What they say we should get - Vanilla, oak, leather. Traces of dark dried fruits
Palate
What we got – Woody, dry, not predominantly spicy, vanilla, caramel follows through, not as solid as I would expect for a 12-year-old bourbon (Mr. Pie).
What they say we should get - Vanilla, corn, rye sweet-sour notes and a lot of oak
Finish
What we got – Overall a very dry finish with a pleasant peppery finish to it
What they say we should get – Medium, caramel, and wood with a hint of popcorn
Summary
There is no getting away from the wood here. Those 12 years have sucked up a lot of the oak from the barrel and it is the predominant note coming through on both the nose and the palate. Luckily though this is just the initial impression and very quickly it is followed up with caramel and vanilla with a touch of spice that all brings a balance to the bourbon.
Without a doubt, this is one of the better Jim Beam offerings and easily falls into the Gents list of everyday sippers. Very easy to drink and quite rounded once you get over the opening hit of oakiness.
We can readily recommend this as one for your collection and its price (at least in the UK) puts it nicely positioned in the mid-range bourbon area which, now that Elijah Craig has dropped their age statement, makes this the only 12-year-old in class at that price point.
