We’ve covered plenty of interesting new whiskey releases in 2024 across various styles and price points. But Jim Beam’s newly revealed Winter Reserve looks to be in pole position as the most intriguing affordable release we’ve seen.
I rolled my eyes initially when I scanned the press release. I spied the words “sweet vanilla” and “cinnamon spice”. I presumed this was just a holiday-themed blend of Jim Beam’s competitor to Fireball, Kentucky Fire – a.k.a. “a cinnamon liqueur infused with Kentucky straight bourbon whiskies” and the brand’s similar “Vanilla Bourbon Whiskey.”
A second read changed my tune quickly. This isn’t some whiskey liqueur Frankenstein. Jim Beam Winter Reserve is a legit 6-year-old bourbon bottled at 86 proof, and as such, there’s no added flavoring to bastardize it. Instead, the wintery tasting notes mentioned in the release come from aging in two toasted barrels. Still, neither of those two details is necessarily remarkable on their own until you get to the price – $25 for a 750ml bottle.
Yes, that’s roughly double the price of Jim Beam’s classic white label – which is one of the main reasons the bottle is the world’s best-selling bourbon by a factor of more than five. But this is also a different animal.
I don’t have the memory or the time to review whether this is the cheapest toasted bourbon out there right now, but I know enough about the market to guess it’s very much in the running. The closest bottling that jumped to my mind is Basil Hayden’s “Toasted Barrel” Kentucky Bourbon, which was released a few years back and seems to hover close to $40 at many online retailers. It also lacks an age statement. And as it happens, Basil Hayden is also owned by Jim Beam.
This isn’t some whiskey liqueur Frankenstein. Jim Beam Winter Reserve is a legit 6-year-old bourbon bottled at 86 proof, and as such, there’s no added flavoring to bastardize it.
