Jim Beam's Black Label

Colour: full gold (exactly the same nuance as JD, how clever is that?) Nose: we’re in the same league but this is rather less sexy-ha-ha-easy-ha-ha, relatively more austere (but it’s very far from being austere whisky), with rather more orange marmalade and maybe a little less vanilla. Certainly less maple syrup! A little more ginger too, which should suggest more oak. Fresh oak, obviously. Mouth: yet again, it’s a bigger, spicier, less smooth and sweet expression but the styles are pretty similar, seen from here (I’m sure bourbon freaks will find many more differences). More pepper and ginger, cloves, cardamom… Having said that it becomes much sweeter after thirty seconds, it’s really sweet-oak-infused. Finish: longer than the JD, and mostly spicier. Pencil shavings in the aftertaste. Comments: same ballpark. I tend to like this a notch better but I think that just like JD, it’s whisky that ought to be mixed or, at least, chilled. SGP:740 - 71 points.