Jim Beam

USABourbonKentucky

Since1795

DistilleryClermont · Kentucky

OwnerBeam Suntory

StyleKentucky Straight Bourbon

GrainsCorn · Rye · Barley

CoreWhite · Black · Double Oak

The world's best-selling bourbon. Made by seven generations of the Beam family.

Jim Beam is the best-selling bourbon in the world. It's been made by the Beam family across seven generations, yet for all that history it carries a slightly "cheap" image in Korea.

Here's a common misreading. Standard Jim Beam (the white label) was made for cocktails and highballs in the first place, not for sipping neat. Inexpensive doesn't mean badly made — it was built to be mixed without fuss. In cola or ginger ale, it earns its keep.

If you want to see what the distillery can really do, look at its small-batch line. Bottles like Knob Creek and Booker's are higher in proof and richer in flavour, and they overturn the "Jim Beam equals cheap" impression in a single sip. Start with a white-label highball; take the next step with Knob Creek.

Flavourofficial / critical

Corn sweetnessVanillaOakLight rye spiceNutsCaramel

Glossaryfor beginners

BourbonAn American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak — defined by law.

Straight bourbonBourbon aged at least two years with nothing added for colour or flavour. Jim Beam White is usually four.

Rye recipeA traditional bourbon using rye, not wheat, as the secondary grain — for a light spicy note.

Small batchA line built from a small selection of barrels. The Beam family's Booker's and Knob Creek belong here.

Range & Collections

White LabelThe roughly four-year flagship. The base of highballs and cocktails, and the best-selling bourbon in the world.

Black · Double OakLonger or second-barrel ageing builds oak and sweetness in the step-up bottlings.

Devil's CutA variant that pulls spirit out of the barrel wood for a richer pour.

Small Batch CollectionBooker's, Baker's, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden — the Beam family's premium set.

Limited · VintageRepeal Batch and other commemorative, limited releases.

Value by AgeData-based2026.6 as of

White LabelFlagship · mixing~£20

BlackMore-aged premium~£28

Knob Creek 9yoSmall batch~£45

★ Booker'sBarrel-proof small batch · Beam family premium~£90

Jim Beam's value is scale — the world's number-one bourbon — not the auction room. What collectors actually chase is the family's small batches: barrel-proof Booker's, gentler Basil Hayden, popular Knob Creek — a range that runs from entry to premium under the Beam name.

Prices are approximate retail / duty-free · Small batches at brand list price (volatile) · Not a personal tasting score

How It’s Made

Jim Beam is a straight bourbon made at Clermont, Kentucky. Its rye recipe — corn with rye and barley — carries a lighter spice than the wheated Pappy or Weller. The White Label ages around four years for a balance of corn sweetness, vanilla and oak, with weight building up the range through more wood and time. Under Beam Suntory, distribution runs deep across Japan and Asia.

Seven generationsSince Jacob Beam sold his first barrel in 1795, the Beam family has supplied master distillers for more than seven generations.

Rye recipeRye rather than wheat as the secondary grain gives a light spice, unlike the round sweetness of Pappy or Weller.

Home of small batchBooker's, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden — the Beam family opened the 1980s–90s wave of premium bourbon.

Friend of the highballPushed especially in Japan as the 'Jim Beam Highball', it widened the habit of drinking bourbon long and light.

History

It began in 1795 when Jacob Beam sold his first barrels of whiskey in Kentucky, and the Beam family has carried the trade for more than seven generations since. Established under the Jim Beam name after Prohibition, it was acquired in 2014 by Japan's Suntory — forming 'Beam Suntory' and making it the core bourbon of one of the world's three largest drinks groups.

How It’s Drunk

Jim Beam is close to the default that comes to mind at the word 'bourbon'. In its American home it is an everyday base for cocktails and highballs, and in Japan the 'Jim Beam Highball' has many drinking it long with soda. Less a bottle to dig deep into for aroma than the dependable bourbon you can find anywhere.

◆The Right GlassSignature

White Label is in its element long — a highball with soda, or mixed with cola or ginger ale — so a tall glass suits it. Stronger, more characterful small batches like Knob Creek and Booker's are better neat in a Glencairn, or opened slowly over one large cube.

→ The science of the highball → The on-the-rocks glass