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The best known whiskey brand produced at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Kentucky is undoubtedly Jim Beam Original, also known as White Label. But there are a bunch of other bourbons and rye whiskeys made there too, like the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection (Knob Creek, Booker’s, Basil Hayden, and Baker’s). Another overlooked but beloved brand is Old Grand-Dad, and this historically bottom shelf bourbon just got a significant upgrade in the form of a seven-year age statement.
The new release is called Old Grand-Dad 7-Year-Old Bonded Bourbon, and that name pretty much lays it out. This is a 7-year-old bourbon that is bottled in bond, meaning it’s at least 4 years old, exactly 100 proof, and the product of one distillery and one distillation season. This is not the first bottled-in-bond release from Old Grand-Dad, however, as its many fans are surely aware. The brand was established in 1882, and more than a century later James B. Beam Distilling Co. (known as Beam Inc. at the time) acquired it, along with Old Crow and Old Overholt. The current Old Grand-Dad lineup consists of high-rye bourbon (the same mashbill as Basil Hayden) that is bottled at 80 proof, 114 proof, and a bottled-in-bond expression at 100 proof that is a few years younger than this new release. Last year, the brand expanded to include an excellent (and expensive) 16-year-old bourbon also bottled at 100 proof.
The distillery didn’t provide a whole lot of information about the new bourbon, other than it was barreled in the spring of 2018. (Remember, in order to be bottled-in-bond the whiskey is made during one distillation season, which gives it a vintage of sorts.) Interestingly, and probably coincidentally, this release comes just about a month after Heaven Hill launched its Old Fitzgerald 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond. That bourbon is very different, however, because it’s made from a wheated mashbill as opposed to the high-rye recipe used for Old Grand-Dad. We did not get to sample this new bourbon yet, but the official tasting notes describe caramel and vanilla on the nose; sweet caramel, charred oak, and vanilla on the palate; and a full-bodied finish with caramel flavors (that’s a whole lot of caramel).
It will be interesting for Old Grand-Dad fans to compare this new release to the original bottled-in-bond expression to see how a few more years aging in new charred oak has transformed the whiskey. The bourbon is just rolling out, so check with your local liquor store to find a bottle. In the meantime, you can find the rest of the Old Grand-Dad lineup available to purchase at websites like Total Wine now.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker