Seeing this on the shelf, just to kill my curiosity I felt I should grab a bottle of Jim Beam Bonded (or "bottled-in-bond"). Because it's bonded, it has to be bottled at 100 proof, at least 4 yrs old, and produced in a single distilling season in a single distillery. Despite all these restrictions, I realized I was probably just grabbing a Jim Beam at a higher proof, but I had to see for myself.
Even at 100 proof, I found the Bonded Beam to be generally sweet up front. It had the standard vanilla, caramel and toffee flavors, Nothing really out of the ordinary in that respect. In traditional Beam style, it had a peppery spiciness on the back end.
The texture was on the watery end, typical of lower end bourbons generally used for mixers rather than taken straight. That being said, the flavor profile was right enough that I enjoyed it on its own just fine.
That being said, I likely wouldn't be grabbing for another any time soon. Even at this price point, around $20, there are better bourbons to be had. The higher proof, however, would make this a better mixing bourbon than standard Jim Beam, and if that's the purpose, then this would be the right bottle to grab.
Overall, it's just Jim Beam with a somewhat higher proof.
Grade: C
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