Cheap bourbon so I think

Went to liquor shop looking for sake here in Kaoshiung. The owner told me instead of paying NT$800 for the common sake I like (price each bottle), why not get four bottles of Jim Beam Bourbon (seems USA made but shows imported via Japan from Suntory)for NT$1,000, that is NT$250 each. Have others here get such deals on like items, its like cheap as some beer I drink for the same size bottle. I did not its so cheap ! Anyways got 4, gave one to local dinner, will use one, use other 2 as gifts. Thinking I should shop around and compare prices more,

Yay! On island of cheap whisky you use Jim Beam as a gift?

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Jim Beam aka “Grandpa’s medicine”. A great palate cleanser between whiskies.

Seriously though, it’s a great mixer.

That’s how I do maths after a bottle of cheap Bourbon.

Jim Beam is part of BeamSuntory. Bourbon sells poorly in Taiwan, so the importers often bundle it with Scotch, effectively forcing liquor stores to buy a few cases of Jim Beam for every case of Laphroaig 25. The stores then try to offload the forced purchases at near cost, leading to very low prices.

Happens with lower end single malts too, so Taiwan is a great market for having a decent drink on the cheap.

I actually like Jim Beam! I’ve found some for under 400 NT, but never for 250 NT. And I was very impressed by the Costco Kirkland brand. Better than Jim Beam. Will definitely get more. I’ll check the price next time. I don’t remember.

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Jim Beam may be the vanilla of bourbons, but it’s bourbon. At $250 why not?

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Speaking of which, if you have access to a Western style oven and you bake, you can substitute bourbon for vanilla with generally good results. White label Beam has worked well for me in the past.

Also, you could do a lot worse than the cheapest Beam if you’re in the market for bourbon whiskey. There is nothing wrong with Jim Beam.

Technically it’s not bourbon (although it’s marketed in some international markets as such), it’s Tennessee straight whiskey. Gonna get some raised eyebrows in Kentucky and Tennessee if you call it bourbon. :grandpa:

Agree with you wholeheartedly, though. I love Jack Daniel’s black label, I think it’s a tremendous bargain and of course it’s the most popular American whiskey worldwide. It’s my go-to brown in Taiwan and in the States. The Kirkland Signature is even better, and that’s not easy to do.

Hopefully Costco will bring it back. It disappeared over the summer here in Hsinchu. :disappointed_relieved: NT$1,045 per liter, and a bargain at that.

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Tennessee vs. Kentucky has nothing to do with it being bourbon or not. The only location requirement for bourbon is USA. Bourbon can come from any US state.

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Straight bourbon whiskey is made one way, Tennessee another. It’s a matter of process (Tennessee whiskey is filtered through, or steeped in, charcoal before it’s casked; bourbon skips this step).

I should have said that raised eyebrows will be one result if you confuse the two processes while in Kentucky or Tennessee. Most of the old booze hounds in those two states have forgotten more about American whiskey than the rest of the US knows (Virginia excepted).

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Tennessee whisky generally meets the broader criterion for bourbon though. There’s not really any reason why it can’t be called that

I don’t disagree. I only note that doing that will raise some eyebrows in Kentucky and Tennessee, and probably in Virginia, too.

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Sorry your post seemed to imply that because it came from Tennessee it couldn’t be bourbon. This Costco stuff is bourbon that comes from Tennessee.

However, the filtering process you describe does not preclude it from being a bourbon either. Most people assume this because JD doesn’t want to be labeled bourbon, but no where does it say in the regs that you can’t charcoal filter it…its just that most don’t. Here’s some references:

Assuming identical mash bills and distillation, the filtering changes the flavor. Like, distinctively changes the flavor.

The mash is the make up of the grain bill. Almost every one is different, every whiskey of course has their own recipe. The only requirement for bourbon is that it’s 51% corn. The rest is up to the distiller.

Of course filtering it changes the flavor, otherwise why do it?

Even if this is filtered, I’m pretty sure it isn’t, this doesn’t preclude it from being bourbon.

Again, you seemed to imply it wasn’t bourbon. It is unless they aren’t meeting the requirements set in the wiki link above.

Disagree, I’m pretty sure that it is.

Technically you’re 100% correct (except on the filtering of KS), but culturally you are way off. Unless you’re a Yankee, that is. :grinning:

Show me in the regs where straight bourbon can’t be filtered? Or if made in Kentucky, a filtered bourbon can’t be called Kentucky straight bourbon? Only designation for straight bourbon beyond the regular standard, is that it must be aged 2 years.

I don’t see where I’m from as having anything to do with understanding pretty straight forward regulations. If you were originally making a post about culture then I might have worded it differently, but I actually think you just had the regs wrong (you actually used the word “technically”) and are trying to save face by calling me a yankee and talking about “culture”. Carry on, I’ve spent more time than intended.

Whoa, no offense meant.

It pains me to admit that legally (ie, technically) Tennessee whiskey is a bourbon. All I meant to say. Not an easy admission.

Not real pain, but I agree with Tennessee that their LC process improves the flavor of an apples-to-apples bourbon.

Now, has bourbon distilling improved so much that it’s no longer a hard and fast rule? Yes, of course. There are many straight bourbon whiskeys available today that very likely would not have been improved by LC.

In general, though, I like the idea that Tennessee is able to distinguish itself from bourbon, although the distinction is not a legal one. It goes back to old ways of making American whiskey, and I like that.

By the way, there is a newfangled piece of marketing available to restaurant bartenders and/or buyers called a Master Sommelier of Whisky (or some such) available these days. Are you one? (I am not) Do you know of anybody distilling bourbon today in Taiwan?

Peace.

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I assume you mean bourbon-like given Taiwan is not the US. I doubt anyone would try to make a bourbon-like whiskey because there’s not a lot of the main ingredient here, corn. The only whiskey distilled in Taiwan that I know of is Kavalan and Omar.

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