Jim Beam White (1x75cl)

This is Kentucky bourbon, not Scotch. Bourbon is legally at least 51% corn and has to be aged in new charred oak barrels, which is why it usually comes across sweeter and rounder than a Scotch — corn sweetness plus fresh oak, every time.

Jim Beam White is the everyday bottle in the range. Honestly: this is a mixing whiskey, not a sipping one. Highball, bourbon and coke, an Old Fashioned, a whisky sour. It is the bottle you keep at home so you always have something to pour, not the one you save.

Tasting notes

Bourbon of this style usually shows vanilla, caramel and a corn-led sweetness with light oak spice. Plenty of ice, or a highball with cold soda and a lemon wedge; it also stands up well to ginger ale.