OLD GRAND DAD 16- To Buy? Or not to Buy? An answer to your question.

Over on Instagram we did a deep dive of this Old Grand Dad 16yr that Jim Beam released in 2024. While it is not comprehensive by any means, Matt, Bryan and I spent some time with this, and collected our thoughts. We hope this helps you make your own decisions.

Before we get into it, let’s get the particulars out of the way-

• 16 years old.

• 100 proof.

• Beams OGD mashbill.

• A one time limited release (bottle count undisclosed).

• MSRP roughly $10 a year (your market may vary).

“This smells like respectable whiskey.” - Bryan.

Nose- Old Grand Dad 16 is loaded with notes of old leather, hints of sweetness, and has almost no heat on it. This is a nose for people that enjoy the scent of bourbon. Spend enough time with it and you’ll discover the caramel, and vanilla, but mostly smells like sweet oak, and leather.

Sadly no butterscotch for me, but that’s ok. Notably the beamnut isn’t a major nose component. There’s some whispers of Spanish peanuts, but you’ll be forgiven if you don’t notice them at all, because it’s just not prominent.

“Look at how dark that fucker is.” -Matt

Palate- The initial sip was quite interesting, and it impressed immediately. Second sip was much better. We found that it needs to rest after opening. Give it ten in the glass and watch some Faster Pussycat videos on Youtube and come back to it.

This is dry initially, not like Stagg Jr. dry, but it brings a good amount of dusty rickhouse air to it, not smoky, but sawdust like. It keeps on getting better with each sip. Wild how this works.

I swear I almost get some cheese notes on the back of the palate. Not cheap cheese, but like some good French cheese. The taste can initially be best described as confusing. This one challenges your palate because you don’t have anything to compare it to.

It’s old, old Grand Dad mashbill. It’s got enough oak on it to remind me of Elijah Craig 18yr but it’s not nearly as oaked as that. It cautiously approaches that level of oak, but doesn’t get to the point of no return.

I wouldn’t call this over oaked at all. I find the wood here to be delicate and non tannic. For context, I think the oak sits perfectly between knob 15 and 18. I find that there is a dark honey taste here which means less sweet, and more like fresh honeycomb.

“I’d pay for that.” - Matt

Finish- At the end, the age takes center stage here. There’s some mushroom and hints of blue cheese on the finish. It’s not a long Kentucky hug type of finish, this is very different. Just when you think it’s over, let it stay for longer than you normally would and you’ll be rewarded with some fascinating notes.

If you rush to another sip you just might miss it. After a few sips you lose the funky earthy notes on the finish. They fall back into the background. There if you look for it, but it fades into lighter notes.

3 word recap-
Nose- lovely
Palate- challenging
Finish- umami

Conclusions- This is not a typical Beamnut release. It’s not the profile you think you know. This bourbon will make you consider its existence.. While it tastes better which every sip (yes, we said this a lot, but it’s true). it’s so very different you may struggle comparing it to other things.

We found it extremely difficult to compare it with anything else, so we lost the ability to compare it to anything but our own palate preferences.

I’ve read a lot of takes on this release, and I am baffled by how it’s been received. I’m curious as to why this doesn’t get a fair shake. Is it price? Does the lack of a frame of reference make this difficult to assess?

This bottle challenges one to look within rather than fall back on any comparisons. OGD16 challenges in ways that I haven’t seen since Seagrass 16 and if you forget, I love that release. OGD16 is a welcome addition to the bourbon world. It’s different, and difference is what makes us expand our palate.

Ultimately this bottle was so good I purchased several replacements thus violating my “no backups” rule. $200 is $200, I get it, but for me, this is not only a buy, but buy another.

- Mickey Pinstripe