About Jim Beam Signature Craft High Rye 11 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Following the end of the American Revolutionary War, Johannes Reginald Beam emigrated from Germany to the United States, and eventually settled in Kentucky County. At the time, Kentucky County was still considered part of Virginia, and was overseen by a military governor named John J. Bowman. In order to encourage westward expansion, Virginia issued pioneers who agreed to settle in Kentucky County “corn writs,” which granted the pioneers 60 acres of land if they agreed to settle in Kentucky and start farming corn.

After settling in Kentucky, Beam began harvesting corn and set forth a family tradition by distilling the excess grains he harvested into whiskey. Since then, seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the eponymous company (the company is actually named after James Beam, who rescued it following Prohibition). Today, Fred Noe — a seventh generation master distiller and the great grandson of Colonel James B. Beam — shepherds his family legacy forward.

Jim Beam Signature Craft High Rye 11 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the latest release in Jim Beam’s Harvest Bourbon Collection. While the whiskey still contains at least 51% corn (it must in order to be called “bourbon”) and some malted barley, the mashbill has an unusually high proportion of rye grains, lending a sharp, complex spiciness to the whiskey that is mellowed by the eleven years it spent aging in new American oak casks.

As a result, Jim Beam Signature Craft High Rye 11 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has an aroma of cinnamon, maple syrup and apple pie, which leads to a spice-driven palate filled with mint, clove, vanilla and gingerbread. The finish is wonderfully bold, with big notes of oak and rye coming together beautifully.

The Jim Beam Signature Craft Harvest Bourbon Collection represents an entirely unique approach to producing bourbon from a family that has been making it since the dawn of the American Revolution. “If you get stagnant, people are going to stop looking at you,” says Noe. “Bourbon is hot all over the world. People read about this stuff, and they want it.”

Pick up a new bourbon you’ll want today!