Jim Beam black? More like Jim Beam bleck! Ok, ok...all silliness aside, I got this mainly to mix into old fashions and wasn't expecting much. This used to come with an age statement, but now it just reads "extra aged," whatever that means. An extra 2 months? 2 years? Who knows. Lets try it neat and see how we feel.
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, cinnamon. A bit weak but its only 43% so as expected. Vanilla is the dominant player here.
Palate: vanilla, charred oak chips. Very smooth. A bit smokey from the charred oak. Its like you used some oak chips for a bbq then after the bbq you dumped vanilla extract on them.
Finish: Vanilla, a bit of spice, and more charred oak.
Overall: This is much better than I anticipated! I might actually just keep this around to sip on. Its a bit thin and one dimensional, but its decent. It doesnt make me make an awkward face when I drink it like the 40% white label does. I mean its still bottom or mid shelf, but it doesnt suck so therefore it has exceeded my expectations.
I have an idea here, a reason to understand one of the prime reasons why price is not an issue for me with respect to evaluating whiskies: I have bought and opened so many bottles that at any given time I am usually pretty far away from even thinking about the purchase price of this or that whisky. When I look at a line-up of 100 things I might take a sip of tonight, I do not give a millisecond's thought to what each one of them cost. Price becomes a distant memory unassociated with the immediate and very vivid experience of actually smelling and drinking the stuff.
@Nozinan, a lot of people have found it so. When @Dramlette attended a whiskey dinner in 2011 with Fred Noe, Jim Beam Master Distiller, she asked him, "Of all of the Jim Beam line products, which would you be the most unhappy to see discontinued from the line?" His answer was "Jim Beam Black Label". Jim Beam Black Label is the favourite product of the Jim Beam Master Distiller.