The long-awaited Jim Beam Double Oak, a permanent addition to the Jim Beam family, has finally arrived in Singapore.
In a bid to offer variety to an ever-growing bourbon fan base, this premium release is Jim Beam’s new take on Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
Oh, if you find the bottle a little different, you’re right – this is the new updated Jim Beam bottle featuring new contours, glass embossing and engraving. Cleanly-designed labels with higher quality paper and real gold foil are embellished with refreshed distiller portraits and a refined ‘rosette’ logo, giving it a more premium outlook.
The Double Oak, as the name suggests, is classic Jim Beam that undergoes a secondary maturation in a new American oak barrel. Yup, like all Jim Beams, the whiskey is first matured in new charred American white oak barrels and then transferred into a second charred oak barrel – by law, they have to use fresh barrels – for a further period of ageing.
The idea was to increase the intensity of the whisky by maximising its contact time in fresh barrels, which results in a whiskey that hits you with an intense flavour, and yet it goes down as smooth as butter. The intense vanilla notes with toasted wood gives way to deep charred oak and opens up into rich caramel and toffee. Thanks to the double casking in alligator char barrels, the Double Oak finishes off with a distinct spiciness. If you find it a little intense, no problem there. Just add a little water if you intend sip your whiskey, or add some ice to taste as it takes ice well; a bit of water mellows the spiciness. The Double Oak makes a great old-fashioned as well. So give it a go if you like your Bourbons with a little bit of oomph (but not Bookers oomph).
