Jim Beam Brown Rice Harvest Bourbon is the second half of the initial releases in the Jim Beam Harvest Bourbon Collection. To see a full rundown of what the collection is and a teensy weeny rant about the marketing behind it check out the Jim Beam Red Wheat review. There’s 3 paragraphs of info and editorial there to keep everyone happy.
Which leaves me a whole lot less to talk about here unfortunately. I mean, they didn’t give us the real full story behind it so there’s not much to wonder about or ponder over so I guess I’ll just state the obvious. The Jim Beam Brown Rice bourbon is simply the traditional Jim Beam bourbon mashbill that’s had the rye removed and is instead using brown rice as the secondary grain. Only having a paltry 13% you wouldn’t think it would make a big difference… but it does.
Jim Beam Brown Rice Harvest Bourbon Review
ABV: 45%
Age: 11 years
Price: $45
Distiller: Jim Beam
Mashbill: 76% corn, 13% brown rice & 10 % malt
EYE
Caramel
NOSE
Jim Beam needs to make more whiskey with brown rqice because this smells fantastic.Caramel and a complex dark fruit blend seamlessly with notes of cinnamon, wood, brown sugar and vanilla salt water taffy. There is a nice overall nutty character to it and some baking spices underneath. Really very nice.
PALATE
Again it has an overall nutty character to it with caramel, wood, toasted grain, cherries, graham crackers, baking spices and a hint of corn and vanilla adding complexity to the nuttiness. It’s like a sweeter, spicier and cleaner drinking version of Jim Beam.
FINISH
Long and winding finish of wood, caramel, dark fruit, toffee and grains.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great balance with the nuttiness providing a structure for everything else to align with. Medium body with a smooth oily texture that goes down easily.
OVERALL
I’m really enjoying this, it’s much better than the Red Winter Wheat version that also came out. The darkly sweet and spicy nose, warm sweet and spicy palate and sweet woody finish all wrapped up in a nutty package is really tasty. That said, I still can’t really say it’s worth the price. At $45 it’s over priced by about $15 in my opinion. But it would serve as a nice little treat if you’re looking for something a little bit different and not being too picky about the price.
SCORE: 89/100
