Review – Jim Beam Honey
Owners of spirit brands naturally want as many people as possible to drink their product as possible. Advertising and marketing of course play an important role, but sometimes a spot of innovation is required to reach new audiences. Whiskey enthusiasts are therefore clearly not the target audience for the latest offering from Jim Beam, but instead consumers who would normally shun bourbon for something perhaps more quaffable.
Jim Beam honey is made by infusing four year old Jim Beam bourbon with honey, interestingly omitting the inclusion of tea which is found in the US market. The US market also markets the honey-tea version under the Red Stag brand, joining the cherry flavour that I reviewed here.
Nose: This certainly smells sweeter than regular Jim Beam, but a blind nosing does not pick out any distinctively honeyed notes over what would be expected in a bourbon. A touch of cherry, with buttery oak fight to get past a relatively ‘hot’ alcohol nose.
Neat: Despite being very sweet initially, as with the nose this is regular sugar sweetness in nature rather than obviously honey. The sweet entry gives rise to a peppery mid-palate and unfortunately a pretty flat finish with a touch of burn.
Mixing: Clearly this is not a product to considered in the great classic cocktails, and it would be unfair to judge it as such. However, sweetened bourbon is just a few dashes of bitters and a few cubes of ice away from becoming an old fashioned so it seems like a decent place to start. The sweetness of this whisky is such that no other sweetening is required, but actually this makes for a passable drink as long as a decent amount of bitters are used. Tested in a range of signature cocktails, it works surprisingly well, but probably no better than Jim Beam with some sugar syrup would do. The signature Honey Buck was the most successful, and it certainly impresses most in longer, easy drinking libations. Shorter, and stronger cocktails highlight some of the shallow depth of flavour so I would be sticking to summertime refreshers for crowd-pleasing action. Frankly though, the absence of any distinctive honey flavour is a real disappointment.
Signature Cocktail – Beam Honey Buck
25ml Jim Beam Honey, 1 wedge lime, 50ml pressed apple juice, ginger ale
Add Jim Beam to highball glass filled with ice, squeeze over lime wedge, add apple juice and top with ginger ale. Stir well.
Jim Beam Honey lacks the honeyed flavour that would have made it an interesting and unique product. As it is, it offers nothing that Jim Beam white label with the addition of sugar syrup couldn’t provide, and for a few quid per bottle less.
Rating: ★★
Jim Beam is available to buy from Master of Malt.
★: Terrible, only drink for a dare.
★★: Meh, not undrinkable but best left alone.
★★★: Reasonable, middle of the road.
★★★★: Tasty stuff, well worth seeking out.
★★★★★: Incredible, booze doesn’t get better than this. You need a bottle in your life.
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i am a huge jim beam fan but this JB Honey is absolutely amazing!!! i love it. defanitely worth trying
This is a blend that can be sipped straight….very smooth… So smooth in fact that you may drink too much before you realize it! Drink responsibly…..
Hi Larry,
I can’t say I agree with you on that, but thanks for the comment anyway!
M
i love this mixed half and half with regular JB, as its a bit to sweet for me on its own an i have to agree with Larry its very moreish , just having a few at the mo mmmmm
Hate how it hits the nose.. but enjoy the drink. Even more-so than the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. My father would disagree with the last part.
Absolutely disgustingly sweet. I disliked it very much.
My girlfriend wanted a mix drink and we didn’t have much in the fridge so I just added ice and water and half a lime and it was amazing. very simple and refreshing low calorie drink.
Had a bottle bought for me as a gift, so tried some last night….. God, it’s moreish!! Was only going to have a quick snifter but ended up drinking 1/4 of the 1L bottle. Never really been a whisky/bourbon drinker, but this is something else.
The drink of the Gods, i imagine…. 🙂
Lovely together with a film and a bag of Minstrels……..
Indeed, like marrow rum is lovely with a bag of needles.
I have had the Jack Daniels Honey and it is amazing, however when I tried the Jim Beam Honey I was more than happy with the flavor. Very gentle down the throat and like a previous person said I drank alot more than I should. I will be buying another bottle soon.
Love to drink it with Vanilla Coke.
I love your honny burbon though the price went up 6$ in the last mo. Ill drink my gin & tonic now… take a bath n your honny burbon & enjoy!!
Unhappy with this country!!
What were you drinking? This stuff is amazing!
Wow this stuff is really very very good. It’s far better than I had expected having some hits and misses with honey before. Evan Williams Honey has been my least favorite far because of it’s sharp finish. Jack Daniels was decent, and Bärenjäger was a favorite with a very authentic honey flavor. Wild Turkey Bourbon American Honey I can barely remember, but I will definitely remember Jim Beam’s honey. A very smooth drink being perfect to sip on with some ice during the summer.
It’s a pity the author of the article has issues with it. I don’t think anyone should.
I’ve just Bought Jim beam Honey when i was in abroad. It’s too sweet for me
I trust they are aware that honey is a restricted description like malt whiskey see the honey regulations 2006.
While I have always preferred the smoothness of Jim Beam over the harshness of JD. I really enjoy the smoothness and lack of “burn” with Jim Beam’s Honey which I have found with other Honeys.
To be honest, I now decant the Beam Honey and let it breathe for a couple of hours.
It was by pure accident that I stumbled on doing this, but letting it breathe brings in all sorts subtleties which are missing if you drink it straight from the bottle.
Well Done, indeed, Jim Beam.
Liked it, sipped, drank smooth n good. Luv it.
this sweet ass shit sucks why fuck with a good whiskey
I think the review is a bit harsh. But that’s just difference in taste I guess 🙂
The tip about using it to make an old fashioned is a pretty cool idea though. Although I think the preparation of the drink is a big part of the appeal of the old fashioned. Seems like a shame to loose the whole ceremonial feel to it, but I guess it’s worth a try anyway.
I’d agree that this is a little flat. A little buttery. The least honey-esque of any of the honey bourbon I have tried. That said, I might give it a third star. Smooth and not without a little bite.
Nice drink, a bit sweet, but sometimes sweet is just what is needed.
Now, I tend to mix the BeamHoney with 1/3 7 or 8 year Beam.
Either on ice or straight, it’s my # 1 go to drink.