Jim Beam Devil’s Cut

Jim Beam Bourbon tells BourbonBlog.com that they’re doing quite a devilish thing. Before we go any further, yes you are about to have a classic live performance of Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones in the video below because we no longer will we have much sympathy for the Devil. In fact, we’ll just drink with him as Jim Beam Devil’s Cut is created using a revolutionary and proprietary process that maximizes the oak and barrel-derived flavors and aromas in the final product.

To create Devil’s Cut, Jim Beam is empties barrels of extra-aged Jim Beam Bourbon. The barrels are filled with water and mechanically agitated to pull the trapped Bourbon and flavors from the barrel wood. The liquid (with the extracted elements it now contains) is then held for an appropriate length of time in a proprietary process until it has developed the proper balance of Bourbon notes. In the final step, this special liquid is carefully added back to the extra-aged, 6-year Bourbon to create a finely-balanced, smooth 90 proof Devil’s Cut Bourbon, which we’ll have a review of soon on BourbonBlog.com.

The name Devil’s Cut plays off the notion of “Angel’s Share” in Bourbon-making. As Bourbon ages, a portion of the whiskey is lost from the barrel due to evaporation—that’s the Angel’s Share. After aging, when the Bourbon is dumped out of the barrel, a certain amount of whiskey is left trapped within the wood of every barrel—it’s that liquid, and the rich flavors from deep within the barrel wood it contains, that are extract and put back into Jim Beam Bourbon to create “Devil’s Cut.”

Jim Beam tells us that Devil’s Cut will be available in select states (NH, PA, VA, WA, OH, NC, and OR) in May, and nationwide this summer for a suggested retail price of $23.99 for a 750 ML bottle.