Beam Box (Round 5!) - Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish & Distillers’ Share 03 Review
If anyone is interested in my past reviews from this series, they are linked at the bottom.
Background
Jim Beam week from me! Earlier this week covered some excellent, extra old releases from Beam, and this week is a big wine and sherry month straight from the Jim Beam Barreled and Boxed program! First up, we have Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend, and man is this one a PROCESS. To hear the back of the box tell it:
Fred Noe sends bourbon to Japan (the “forested hills of the Yamazaki Distillery”, to be exact).
Shinji Fukuyo finishes some of the bourbon in French oak wine casks, some in Spanish oak sherry casks. This is similar to the original Legent, which used the same finishes and blended it with a third part straight bourbon.
Fred and Shinji select ex-Yamazaki sherry casks and use them to finish a third portion of bourbon.
All three finished bourbons are blended together with a FOURTH part straight bourbon, leading to the bottle we have here.
Ok obviously a fair bit of wine influence involved in the crafting of Legent Yamazaki, and the same can be said about the third Distillers’ Share release. This is a blend of bourbon finished in red wine and Oloroso sherry casks. Unlike Legent though, this is just a straight forward, four year old blend of the two finished bourbons. With that, let’s get into the notes!
Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish (8 Years, 114 Proof)
Nose: Crushed red grapes, nutty fudge brownies, red licorice, it smells rich honestly.
Palate: Oily first and foremost, there's a clear sherry influence, though more muted than on the Distillers' Share. A fair amount of baking spices, it's a reasonably spicy palate actually, and there's an occasional note of Nutter Butter cookies.
Finish: Salted caramel, cloves, and black pepper.
Very Good (6/10)
Overall: Look I'll be honest, and this is not very helpful, I don't have enough experience with Yamazaki to tell you influence is definitely coming through. My gut, however, is to say it's influencing the texture a bit more than the flavors. I'd describe it almost like drinking a funhouse mirror finished bourbon, it's a little off kilter texture-wise but still entertaining nonetheless. Now, I have to note this is a $200 whiskey. I try to make value judgements here, and price doesn't factor into my rankings, but it's hard not to consider the opportunity cost on this one. And look, it's obviously a really involved process to craft this. It's interesting, and even pretty good, but I almost wish it was WEIRDER. I'd like to taste this before they added that regular bourbon to the blend for instance.
James B. Beam Distillers’ Share: 03 (4 Years, 112 Proof)
Nose: Hellooooo Olorosooooo! I’m just getting a big, juicy, super sherry forward nose.
Palate: Maple syrup, in both texture and flavor, and yup- more oloroso flavors. Prunes, dark chocolate, and the occasional rush of baking spices.
Finish: Tobacco, anise and baking spices generally, with a gentle undercurrent of toffee and more prunes providing a sweeter counterbalance.
Very Good (6/10)
Overall: Your mileage on this will absolutely vary based on how much you line wine finishes, particularly sherry finishes. I personally found it’s very one note… and I love sherry so that buoys the score for me. I tried these both with a friend who’s palate I trust implicitly, and he had this a half step behind the Legent Yamazaki cask, citing a slightly younger/grainy note underneath all that sherry. Absolutely fair, I just like that sweet sherry note so I keep on returning to it.
Prior Barreled and Boxed Reviews:
