Hardin’s Creek 8 Year Middle Distillation Profile Straight Bourbon: The Classic Beam Baseline in a Three-Bourbon Experiment
Every experiment needs a control. Hardin’s Creek 8 Year Middle Distillation Profile Straight Bourbon is the control in Jim Beam’s Distillation Profile Series. It’s one of three limited releases made at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky, from identical mash bills and fermentation, each aged 8 years and bottled at 109 proof (54.5% ABV). The only variable is the proof the whiskey comes off the still: Low is 105, High is 120, and the Middle is 115, the conventional range Beam typically uses. It keeps more of the rich grain character than the High while being lighter than the Low.
What you get is classic Kentucky bourbon. Retailers describe vanilla bean, brown sugar, and toasted oak on the nose, rich toffee and smooth vanilla with warming cinnamon on the palate, and a long finish of lingering toasted oak and cinnamon, balanced, sweet, and warm. It’s the bottle to start with if you want to understand the series, and it’s the one to keep in the middle when you pour all three side by side. It’s also a very good 8-year-old bourbon on its own, at a full 109 proof, for sipping neat or with a few drops of water. Hardin’s Creek is Beam’s series for experiments and rare releases, and this one is a limited release.
About the Bottle
- Kentucky straight bourbon, aged 8 years
- Middle distillation profile; one of three in the Distillation Profile Series
- 109 proof (54.5% ABV); mash bill undisclosed
- James B. Beam Distilling Co., Clermont, Kentucky; 700ml
Tasting Notes
Nose: Vanilla bean, brown sugar, and toasted oak.
Palate: Rich toffee and smooth vanilla, with warming cinnamon.
Finish: Long, with lingering toasted oak and cinnamon spice.
Food Pairings
The toffee and cinnamon pair well with barbecue, pork chops, and aged cheddar. It also goes with pecan pie, dark chocolate, and caramel desserts.
Serving Suggestions
Sip it neat or with a few drops of water in a Glencairn glass. To explore the series, pour the Middle between the Low and the High.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Distillation Profile Series? Three 8-year-old bourbons that differ only in the proof they were distilled at: Low, Middle, and High.
What’s special about the Middle? It’s the baseline, at the conventional distillation proof Beam typically uses.
What proof is it bottled at? 109 proof (54.5% ABV), like the others in the series.
How does it taste? Classic: vanilla, toffee, brown sugar, toasted oak, and cinnamon.
What size is it? 700ml.
Is it limited? Yes, a limited release.
Explore More
Browse our Hardin’s Creek collection or Bourbon collection, or see the Hardin’s Creek Kentucky Series Trio.
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