Bachelor on the Cheap

By Mike Thayer

After recently reviewing Jim Beam's Honey Whiskey, I decided to stay with the brand in my next tasting.

Blended and flavored whiskeys are red hot right now, consumer demand for brown spirits continues to rise with American Whiskey in particular seeing some phenomenal sales growth.

Regular readers know that I am a fan of flavored whiskey, I've always got a bottle of something in my freezer for a chilled shot or flavored specialty in the liquor cabinet to enjoy on the rocks.  My favorite in all this tasting fun so far, has been Yukon Jack Jacapple.

In browsing the liquor store shelves tonight, the flavor of maple called out to me and so the bottle of choice became Jim Beam's version of a maple flavored whiskey.

Here's the description from the bottle:  Our distillers have infused smooth, rich maple liqueur with fine Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  The perfect mix of bourbon with hints of sweet brown maple.  Enjoy on the rocks or as a chilled shot. 

I sampled this whiskey just as Jim Beam suggested, in a straight shot and on the rocks.  It's VERY maple forward. So forward, it comes up more maple than whiskey.  It's in the swirl, the swallow and lingers in the finish.  As I've mentioned in other flavored whiskey reviews before, I want the flavor to compliment the whiskey, not overpower it.  Jim Beam's balance here is maple forward, too much so.  It's more liqueur than straight bourbon whiskey.    Costing me about $16 for a 750ml bottle, the price is reasonable but I will not buy it again.  The remainder of this bottle is going to go towards topping ice cream, perhaps making a BBQ sauce.  Jim Beam Maple Whiskey gets just 2 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  It is NOT a repeat buy.