Educational Tasting: Jim Beam & Bookers The Reserves! (Friday, July 17th, 2026)

Part 5 of "my big 5 Bourbon distilleries. " Four Roses was up first, Buffalo Trace second, with Wild Turkey third, and then there was Heaven Hill, but next, on July 17th, we move on to Jim Beam! These 5 are some of the most important distilleries in Bourbon, and American Whiskey, producing large amounts making it available to everyone, while also producing some of the most iconic bottlings around.

The Beam family is one of if not the most important family in the history of Bourbon with the roots digging into the 1700s when Jacob Beam began selling barrels! The history is long, and so is the finish on many of their premium bottlings. Though today cask strenght is nearly a norm,  Beam is often considered the first to mass market a cask strength bottling with Booker's back in 1988! Today Beam products include Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Old Grand Dad, Baker's, Booker's, Old Overholt and more. 

For this class we'll dive into a bit of the history, while we try to uncover the identity of JB distillery that we find in their range of bottlings. 

One of the more recent editions from Jim Beam's Booker's line is Booker's The Reserves, and we will be tasting their 2nd edition from 2025! 

2025 Bookers Bourbon 'The Reserves' Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished for 11 weeks in Tequila Barrels 

1978 Jim Beam's Pin Bottle (6 Year) [Japanese reimport]

The class will also include some particularly chosen nosh for pairing. 

Tickets are non-refundable.