“After 13 long years of Prohibition, the 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933. A mere 120 days later, James B. Beam and his family had completely rebuilt our distillery in Clermont, KY and begun crafting the family bourbon once again. As impressive as this feat was, the bourbon Jim made was even more notable. So, to celebrate his accomplishment (and the 85th anniversary of Repeal Day), we crafted Jim Beam Repeal Batch in the same style as it was made back then—from the liquid right down to the label” – jimbeam.com
Appearance: Autumnal orange/Auburn. A few thin legs form when swirled, not particularly viscous in appearance.
Nose: Vegetal, vanilla, confectionary sugars and plenty of spice. There also citrus lingering around the other aromas, orange mostly. It’s got quite an ethanol him for 43% too.
Palate: More viscous mouthfeel than the appearance eluded to, which is a pleasant surprise! First sip is somewhat full of grass cuttings and spices, such as cinnamon and a touch of clove. Subsequent sips reveal a sweeter side, which does it’s best to combat the head and spices, but never quite balances as I would like. There’s leather too, but it’s a bit acrid and not the subtle flavour that usually compliments a whiskey. As the glass matured, chilli and black pepper also make an appearance.
Finish: The black pepper and spices linger for a short time, no sweetness and all remnants of the whiskey are gone pretty sharpish!
Overall: Meh. This isn’t really available in the UK, so it’s really disappointing that, after making the effort to find it, it’s not a particularly pleasant bourbon. I understand that it’s pretty low priced in the US, even if that were the case here, I’d much prefer other budget bourbons, such as WD101 or Woodford Reserve.
