Beam's new innovative bourbon product, Devil's Cut
Jim Beam is set to deliver a new product called Devil’s Cut in May, 2011. ‘Devil’s Cut’ is Beam’s trademarked term for whiskey that is still “trapped within the wood” after dumping. In other words, the dregs. We aren’t sure of the exact process Beam is using to retrieve the dregs from the wood, but it has been confirmed by Fred Noe that it some form of barrel sweating. Beam officially said this about its process: “Through a unique, proprietary process, we extract this formerly lost liquid from deep inside the barrel wood and put it back into our special Bourbon. The resulting liquid is deep in color, aroma and character with robust notes of wood and vanilla.”
There is no age statement on the bottle, but Fred Noe confirmed that the base is 6 year old Jim Beam, but the flavor is supposedly very different. We have heard it tastes like Beam, but has more oak and a longer finish. Noe says, “pulling more [bourbon] out of the wood is the key to this product”. It will come in at 90 proof and the retail price will be about $24 for a 750/ml bottle. We are glad to see the innovation and looking forward to something new. Let us know what you think about it if you have been fortunate enough to get a taste.
See more about Devil’s Cut on Chuck Cowdery’s Blog.
#1 by Bob on February 24, 2011 - 5:00 PM
You’re not sure?
Look at the link after the Chuck Cowdery page you link to. He got an email from Fred Noe: it’s 6-year Jim Beam bourbon, sweated out.
C’mon now.
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#2 by Den on May 11, 2011 - 3:59 PM
Don’t you lose the “Bourbon” title doing this sort of thing?
At least, the use of used caskes for aging is why a bottle of spirits I have around for mixing is referred to as “Kentucky Whiskey” rather than “Bourbon”.
#3 by Mike on May 30, 2011 - 8:18 AM
Well, I just had some last night and yes it is stronger. I think has a little bit at the end for the strong finish. But as a product I would recommend it.
#4 by Joshua on July 6, 2011 - 5:35 AM
It is still a straight bourbon whiskey because every drop has adhered to the law governing the name. There is no difference if you take what is loose in the barrel as a opposed to “squeezing” it out of the barrel staves. For the legal requirements to use the name see straight bourbon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_whiskey#Legal_requirements
#5 by Tim on July 9, 2011 - 4:18 PM
I was at the Jim Beam Distillery on Friday July 8 (2 days ago) and they allowed me to taste test Devils Cut alongside the new Knob Creek Single Barrel. I found the Devils cut to have a very spicy woody flavor, a good nose, and a strong but noy bad after taste. I did like it and I was thinking of buying it then and there. When I tasted the Knob Creek Single barrel, I found it to be very smooth and sophisticated – the epitome of what we are looking for. Since I was traveling that day in a very small sports car, I wanted to buy only one bottle. So I bought the Knob Creek Single barrel. I will buy the Devils Cut at a later time.
#6 by Mike on July 19, 2011 - 3:32 PM
I think Den makes a good point. I mean, I tried this, and I like it just fine, but how can they legally call it bourbon? It seems sketchy to me.
#7 by Chris on August 26, 2011 - 9:13 PM
About calling Devil’s Cut “bourbon”……
I had a similar question in regards to another bourbon recently, and after some digging here is what I found:
By law, as we all know, bourbon cannot be artifically flavored or colored, but what I learned is the law states that bourbon cannot be artificially flavored or colored BEFORE MATURATION. Second argument is that becasue the “extract” that Beam is pulling out of the barrels is just whiskey that has been soaked up, this would not bean “artifical” flavor.
#8 by joe riggs on September 3, 2011 - 4:50 PM
It is still a bourbon because they make it out of 51% corn, distilled no stronger than 160 proof, barreled below 125 proof, they age it in new charred white oak barrels and age it for minimum of 2 years, nothing added, bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. whether they pour it out of the barrel or squeeze it out of a barrel it is still bourbon. I just bought a bottle today and look forward to the tasting tonight. Hoping it is reminiscent of Pappy VanWinkle.
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#9 by dennis reynolds on November 6, 2011 - 11:31 AM
Bought a bottle while touring the plant. I really like it and want to know where I can buy it where I live in the St. Louis area. I haven’t seen any on the local shelves yet.
#10 by Bob DeSimone on January 23, 2013 - 11:06 PM
Had a bartender give me a “Taste” a few months back. Definitely a woody, full flavor with a nice finish
I’ve been asking for it ever since, but nobody has heard of it yet
Hope it shows up soon!