Beam Box (Round 7!) - Hardin’s Creek Golden Origins and Distillers’ Share 05 Review

Written By Frank Gorman
Hardin’s Creek Golden Origins and Distillers’ Share 05 Review

Background

Jim Beam’s Barreled and Boxed releases are officially starting back up again. It has been a curious 2024 to a program I’ve been a big fan of so far. There was no spring release, despite past years being on a quarterly cadence. This feels like a missed opportunity to put together a rye themed box around the new A. Overholt and Knob Creek 10 Year Rye releases. Astute watchers of the release list also quickly noted that this shipment contains Distillers’ Share 05, and winter will contain Distillers’ Share 07… but there’s no Distillers’ Share 06 to be found (the virtual tasting would later reveal it’s going to be distillery only). Little Book Chapter 8 is also already hitting shelves, but won’t come to Barreled and Boxed recipients until Fall. These are more curious observations rather than major gripes, but as someone who enjoys this program, I hope it doesn’t signal a slippage in Beam’s attention to it.

As for the current releases, we have a new Hardin’s Creek, Golden Origins, and Distillers’ Share 05. Golden Origins is an 11 year old Corn Whiskey, aged first in a new, uncharred oak barrel and then finished in used, toasted barrels. Distillers’ Share continues to operate as Beam’s experimental line, and release 05, while still a straight bourbon, is no different. This time, Freddie Noe extended Beam’s standard fermentation from 3 to 5 days. I had absolutely no clue what effect this would have on the whiskey, so I reached out to DC-based whiskey educator extraordinaire Tracie Franklin, who was kind enough to explain!

“Towards the end of the fermentation, the yeast becomes less active and begin to die, presenting an opportunity for bacteria to take over. The acid the bacteria creates interacts with the ethanol to make additional and more complex esters. The additional fermentation time also allows more chemical reactions to occur, producing potential for more congeners like phenols, higher alcohols, and lactones.

This is not without tradeoffs, as bacteria can introduce off notes. There are reactions that are very hard to rectify if they go too far, diacetyl, for instance, which can give you this fake popcorn butter note. BUT, if you catch it at the perfect moment, you can capture those complex congeners which can lead to a rich, fruity, and flavorful spirit.”

For once, I was also able to join the virtual tasting set up for these releases. Here’s some nuggets from Freddie Noe that came up during the tasting:

  • There is no set proof point they are targeting for either the Hardin’s Creek or Distillers’ Share lines. They want to identify the proof that works best for each offering.

  • The toasted barrel used to finish Hardin’s Creek previously was used to make Basil Hayden’s Toast.

  • The Distillers’ Share is barrelled at 115 proof, which is lower than Beam’s standard 125 proof into the barrel. -Another fun knowledge nugget from Tracie, this helps extract water soluble congeners like sugar and phenols!

Lesson learned, I really need to make more of an effort to join these virtual tastings… Freddie was dropping KNOWLEDGE. Anyways, time to get to how these taste:

Hardin’s Creek Golden Origins (11 Years, 106 Proof)

Nose: Crisp apple slices drizzled in a bit of honey. Graham cracker, a fairly oak forward note that’s a bit like a fresh snapped green branch.

Palate: What strikes me first is the texture. It is so thick compared to what I was expecting. Golden grahams, drizzled in extra honey and complimented by a steady oak note.

Finish: Black pepper, the oak turns a bit astringent at the end. Corn pops cereal, some lemon curd, and a note of hot honey. It’s actually a touch spicier than I expected. It’s a touch, just a touch, moonshine-y…

Good to Very Good (5.5/10)

Overall: …I’m not sure a new uncharred barrel was the best bet for this distillate. This is obviously a pure guess, but there’s a brashness here that I wonder if a previously used bourbon barrel (similar to what’s used in Mellow Corn) wouldn’t have mellowed (I know, redundant, but it’s the best word for what’s missing) this out a bit more. The heat comes more at the finish, it’s pretty effective on the nose, and the palate has a lovely texture. That said, it crescendos to a fairly aggressive finish that leaves me a little cold. Candidly, this is one I may feel entirely different about once this has opened up more.  

James B. Beam Distillers’ Share: 05 (6 Years, 108 Proof)

Nose: An immediate, creamy viscosity hits you right away. Overripe orchard fruit. It has a wonderfully alluring balance, it’s primed to be a bit sweet but it doesn’t read as overly sweet.

Palate: Maple syrup, and caramel coated apples. Delicate undercurrents of toasted oak and cloves. A little bit of leather, ripe peaches, and just a killer creamy texture. You can really roll this around your palate and let it just stick to your taste buds.

Finish: Cinnamon raisin bread, caramel chews, and cherry cola. It’s got that gentle bite you get from cola too, like a good, craft soda rather than an off the shelf kind.

Excellent (8/10)

Overall: Ooph, this one is going to go FAST. Absurdly drinkable, I found myself continuing to pour a little more sip by sip into my glass. “Just trying to nail down the notes…” I kept mumbling under my breath. I finished about 3 ounces, glanced at my draft and found I’d made comically little progress on my notes. Freddie alluded to this being quite something at cask strength and god damn I can only imagine.

Prior Barreled and Boxed Reviews:

Frank Gorman
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