Battle of the Bourbons: Jim Beam Bonded vs. Old Tub

I’ve shared before that Old Tub is a great product, suitable for an everyday pour. One bourbon aficionado exclaimed he could “drink the sh*t out of this every day”. While I used to see the Jim Beam Bonded product on store shelves somewhat infrequently, I recently heard that Jim Beam was going to discontinue this rendition of their popular brand.

While there still remains a decent amount of supply of Jim Beam Bonded, I thought we should sample these two side-by-side before a comparison is lost forever. Both products are bottled-in-bond, assuring us that the products are from the same distilling season by the same distiller at the same distillery, have been aged at least 4 years, has had nothing added or changed other than filtration and proofing, and has been proofed to exactly 100-proof.

Beyond the bottled-in-bond standards, both products share the common Jim Beam mash bill: 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley. This low-rye mash bill is shared by Jim Beam proper, as well as Knob Creek, Baker’s, and Old Crow.

One differentiator between the two is that Old Tub is a non-chill filtered product. This style of bourbon, highlighted in their Repeal Batch special release, allows some of the oils, fatty acids, and esters to remain in the product, allowing a “thicker mouthfeel”. For many years, Old Tub was only available for purchase at the Beam distillery; now it has become widely available (though I’d add that it certainly isn’t as widespread as Jim Beam and Knob Creek).