The bourbon in Jim Beam Double Oak is matured in two oak barrels, specifically, two very charred American white oak barrels. The first batch of bourbon is transferred to another charred barrel to allow for more maturation, and more contact with the wood. The result is an intense and smooth spirit. Here’s what else you should know.

• Jim Beam doesn’t do age statements, as all their bourbon is bottled-to-taste. When the blender says it’s ready, it’s ready. The Double Oak is likewise matured in two kinds of charred oak (for a little over four years) until it’s good to go.

• There’s a luxurious new label and bottle design – we likes – which gives it classy edge.

• The Double Oak has a golden amber, compared to the lighter regular flagship whiskey, and has hints of banana, vanilla, tropical fruits and a fine toasted, spicy appeal. It’s great for Old-Fashioned and a bracing Mint Julep. (Below. Ours was made by Adam Harris, Jim Beam’s bour-bon vivant and American ambassador).

• Before it was renamed Jim Beam following Prohibition, the company was originally known as Old Tub, and its flagship whiskey was called Old Jake Beam. (Bonus point: Prohibition lasted 15 years in Kentucky, the rest of America only suffered for 13 years. Thanks Adam for the factoid!).

• Jim Beam had been running the company since before Prohibition (which ended in 1933), and he rebuilt the distillery from the ground up in Clermont, Kentucky. Two years later, the company got back up and running, and it was renamed in his honour. 

• Since forever, Jim Beam has been brewed with the same formula of corn, rye, and barley malt, and even the modern process hasn’t changed that. The strain of yeast used in its creation is the same one that Jim Beam himself first used after the distillery came back online after Prohibition; Fred Noe (current distiller) keeps a jar of it in his fridge for safekeeping, in case of emergency.

• Other Small Batch Bourbon collection the company produces include Baker’s, Basil Hayden’s, Knob Creek and of course Booker’s – Jim Beam created the small batch bourbon market, btw.

• The Double Oak is a mighty fine whiskey, its intensity lends itself to more potent cocktails. Consider it for Old Fashion and a Whiskey sour.

Like this? Here’s a Fun Illustrated History of American Whiskey

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