Legent & Friends

Even before I removed the tamper-proof capsule guarding Legent’s cork, I knew this tasting would happen. While Jim Beam only has two bourbon recipes, they do deliver a notable diversity across all their bourbon brands. Even within their low-rye recipe family, Beam achieves enough differentiation to justify three premium brands - Knob Creek, Baker’s, and their flagship Booker’s. The grain, yeast, water, still, distillation proof, barrel characteristics, and barrel-entry proof all remain constant for Beam's bourbons; the diversity comes from subtle variances in the wood staves of the barrels, where those barrels are stored, how long those barrels are stored, and critically, how those barrels are selected and batched into their respective products.

In my previous post, I relayed some of my curiosities regarding Legent’s production - what the proportions of the three whiskies used in Legent were, which Beam bourbon recipe was used, and how old each component was. Ever curious (translation - looking for an excuse to enjoy some bourbon), I decided to see if tasting Legent alongside the Beam bourbons I had on-hand revealed any insight into these mysteries. The tasting pitted a pour of Legent against half-ounce pours of:

• Knob Creek Small Batch (Beam low-rye recipe, non-age stated, 50% ABV)
• Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond (Beam high-rye recipe, non-age stated, 50% ABV)
• Booker’s Batch 2018-01 (Beam low-rye recipe, 6 years, 3 months old, 63.7% ABV)
• Baker’s (Beam low-rye recipe, 7 years old, 53.5% ABV)

Right out of the gate, Old Grand-Dad was eliminated from the comparison and pushed into the least-similar spot. If one ever wonders what rye contributes to a bourbon, just enjoy a pour of Knob Creek next to a pour of Old Grand-Dad. The wood/brown-sugar of the Knob Creek is replaced with a grassy spearmint vibe. Granted, some of this difference is due to barrel selection and batching, but with more than double the rye content, Old Grand-Dad radically stands out from its Beam-brethren. When comparing Old Grand-Dad to Legent, I really struggled to find any similarity whatsoever. To my nose and tongue, these two whiskeys aren’t even in the same galaxy.

Booker's was the next to be eliminated. Coming in at 63.7% ABV, it is a proof-bomb that dwarfs not only the Legent, but all the other bourbons on the table. Adding water helps tame the alcohol sledgehammer, but intense wood, resin, and waxy characteristics remain. Of all Beam bourbons, to me, Booker’s has consistently been dominated by that wood/resin/waxy character and this really torpedos the comparison to Legent as none of those characteristics exist in Legent. There is some bourbon commonality, but it is a stretch. As such, Booker's seems more like a distant cousin, than a direct sibling.

That leaves both Knob Creek and Baker's and both share some common characteristics to Legent in regard to smell and taste. On the nose, it's Baker's that comes the closest to Legent, though I find it difficult to quantify just how close the aromas are. Knob Creek’s nose has a wonderful oak meets brown sugar quality that neither Baker's nor Legent share. There is a savory sweetness, rather than a sugary sweetness in both Legent and Baker's that unites the two whiskies.

The similarities flip when it comes to taste, this time it's Knob Creek that is closer to Legent. Baker's retains a savory/herbal sweetness whereas Knob Creek continues its brown sugar/caramel trend which parallels, but does not imitate, Legent's fruity sweetness.

So we have Legent and Baker's being similar on the nose whereas Legent and Knob Creek are similar on the tongue. Of the two, it's the Legent - Baker's smell similarity that is much closer than the Legent - Knob Creek taste similarity. Truth be told, I'm beginning to believe the wine-finished components of Legent had more of an impact on the taste than the smell. Funny, because when I was tasting Legent alone, I was convinced the wine-influence had significantly impacted the whiskey's nose.

Plotting the four contenders, from least-similar to most-similar (from a qualitative, not quantitative perspective), I have: Old Grand-Dad at the far-end of the scale, Booker's about a quarter of the way up from Old Grand-Dad, Knob Creek, and Baker's each falling about three-quarters up the scale with Baker's getting the top-spot by just a hair due to the technicality that its nose is closer to Legent's nose than Knob Creek's taste is to Legent's taste.

My Totally Subjective, Non-Scientific Plot!

I’ve said numerous times before, tasting multiple whiskeys side by side is a valuable, insightful exercise. Legent certainly stands on its own against the other Beam bourbons, but make no mistake, it is different and quite un-bourbon like for most of the experience. I can understand why those that enjoy and seek out a typical bourbon might have a ho-hum reaction towards Legent - the wine influence certainly impacts and transforms the whiskey. This detour however is precisely why I enjoy Legent - it’s a unique experience that starts out bourbon-esque but then begins to gently steer towards a non-bourbon taste and finish. This is the beauty of opinions, they are simultaneously right and wrong depending on perspective; drink what you like, avoid what you don’t, and raise a glass every now and again to whatever it is you hold dear.

Cheers!

Legent

Legent
Classification: Blended American Whiskey
Country: United States of America
Region: Kentucky (Clermont: 37.931N, -85.652W)
Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Strength: 47.0% ABV (94.0° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Unknown
Maturation: Unknown age, charred American Oak, red wine and sherry barrels
Price: $34.99 (Total Wine)

tl;dr summary - an intriguing blended whiskey that offers an enjoyable twist on traditional bourbon hallmarks. Bourbon initially on both the nose and tongue with the wine influence rearing its head from the middle of the experience through the conclusion. More prickly and fiery than its proof would have you believe yet requires care when adding water as the whiskey can be easily washed away. Ultimately a fairly priced whiskey that defies the bottom-shelf stereotype of blended American whiskey; worthy of a spot on your shelf.

Generally speaking, blended whiskey, particularly American blended whiskey, has been regarded as a bottom-shelf mixer with a bargain-basement price tag. In its worst implementation, blended American whiskey is nothing more than a dumping ground of youthful bourbon cut with cheaply made and totally unaged neutral grain spirit. There are other implementations however - blended whiskeys that are comprised of well crafted and well aged components, carefully selected to compliment one another, whose goal is to produce a result that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The truth is, while I very much enjoy straight bourbon, straight bourbon has a new charred oak requirement that really is a sledgehammer of influence. As such, though there is variance in smell and taste across the spectrum of bourbon producers, that variance is much smaller than if a variety of barrels were permitted in bourbon’s production. This is where blended American whiskey comes in. Happily, a side effect of the recent boom in premium American whiskey has spurred producers to explore premium blends which in turn has begun reversing blended whiskey’s rotgut stereotype. Free to use any variation of maturation barrels available, quality American blended whiskeys significantly enhance the quantity and variety of compelling whiskey offerings produced in this country.

As stated in the earlier teaser post, Legent is a blend of three whiskeys: Jim Beam Bourbon, Jim Beam Bourbon finished in ex-sherry barrels, Jim Beam Bourbon finished in ex-red wine barrels. Disappointingly, I have more questions than answers regarding the specifics of this blend’s provenance and have yet to come across any official specifications regarding the minutiae of the blend. Are there equal parts of all three components?, Does one component occupy the majority of the blend relegating the other two to the minority? What about the individual components themselves, how old is each one? How long does the bourbon rest in the respective wine barrels? What about the bourbon itself? Jim Beam has two bourbon recipes, a high-rye (27% rye, used for their Old Grand-Dad bourbons) and a low-rye (13% rye, used for all other Beam bourbons) each made with the same yeast strain. Does Legent use the same bourbon recipe for each component or a combination of the two?

Offering my opinion and speculative guesses, I’m betting that Legent exclusively uses Beam’s low-rye recipe bourbon. As for age, I’d place the general age of each bourbon on the younger side, but not to an extreme degree, perhaps 5 to 8 years old. Further, I’d say the sherry and wine-finished components do not spend much time at all in their respective wine barrels; less than a year I’d wager, perhaps being as brief as 2-3 months. Legally Beam is allowed to artificially color this whiskey as it is a blend, but I think it safe to say Beam has done no such thing, that beautiful reddish-mahogany color is all natural baby! As for chill-filtration, Beam does chill-filter a number of their offerings yet I have no reasonable yes or no guess if Legent was chill-filtered. My personal hope is that Beam did not chill-filter this whiskey as I think the chill-filtering process would strip some of the wine-barrel nuances and lessen the overall experience.

UPDATE - I drafted my guesses above a little over a week ago and between then and now, I came across this article which addresses some of the items I was curious about:

Legent showcases its Bluegrass State roots from grain to barrel, using a five year old bourbon distilled by Jim Beam with its standard mashbill as the core component. Two finished whiskeys are incorporated—a sherry cask-finished bourbon with an extra two years of maturation, and a California red wine cask-finished bourbon with one extra year of maturation. The three pieces are married together in a tank for a month, and while exact proportions of the final blend aren't disclosed, the base bourbon is the largest player, followed by the wine cask and then the sherry cask.

https://www.foodandwine.com/cocktails-spirits/legent-bourbon-beam-suntory-review

I will add a cautionary asterisk to this information as it does not come directly from the producer, but all the details seem quite reasonable. My guess as to the base age of the bourbon was in the ballpark, but I whiffed on the durations of the respective wine finishings; two years in sherry and yet, I did not detect the sherry influence all that much (though it is the smallest component of the blend). Also, very interesting the biggest component of the blend is the straight bourbon.

Impressions
Thus far, I’ve had four separate pours of Legent. The notes below are a conglomeration of the notes I took during each of the four tastings. During my first pour, I kept adding water to tame the fiery alcohol and ultimately added too much water, effectively washing the whiskey away.

Nose
Classic bourbon at first - brown sugar, corn sweetness, and yes, the wine influence does emerge shortly after the initial sniff. Absent from the nose is oak and char. Despite knowing there are sherry barrels and red wine barrels involved, this does not smell like a sherry influenced whiskey to me. In fact, this smells of a port finished whiskey. Very interesting!

Adding too much water killed a lot of the bourbon and wine smell. Bummer, lesson-learned for future pours, be stingy with the water. There is an almond paste / marzipan smell after excessive water. This is surreal, it is not just a muted version of the water-free whiskey but an entirely different whiskey.

Taste
Upon arrival, just like on the nose, it’s bourbon on the tongue. The second thing I notice is a medium to medium-strong alcohol punch; a fiery, prickly alcohol at that. Far more of an alcohol punch than the nose would have you expect. Bourbon remains throughout the first half of the sip, but the wine influence emerges during the second-half and takes over from there.

The initial bourbon has a bit of waxy wood that reminds me of Booker’s. Every now and again, I get a flash of that classic peanut taste that Jim Beam bourbons are known for. It’s not consistent nor anywhere near as prevalent as found in Beam’s straight bourbons, but it is there.

When the wine influence pops up, it also raises the sweetness level of the sip. The wine-influenced portion of the sip is much sweeter than the bourbon-influenced portion of the sip. This sweetness is not that classic brown sugar sweetness of the bourbon, rather it is a red fruit/grape sweetness.

Water has opened up more of that grape and wine taste. Just like on the nose however, I get much more of a port finish than a sherry influence; this so reminds me of the finish I get from Glenmorangie’s Quinta Ruban port-finish. The water has reduced the waxy-wood notes. Still a bit more alcohol burn than I would expect, I am still a tad surprised by this.

Finish
Medium length. Cinnamon is prevalent, specifically cinnamon candy (think Atomic Fireball). A pleasant red-fruit sweetness lingers as well with everything culminating in a black tea note. The finish is slightly drying, but not to an excessive degree, think ~25% as drying as how an Earl Grey tea finishes.

Overall
Fascinating to learn that five year old Beam bourbon constitutes the largest component in this blend. In my opinion, that certainly explains the excessive alcohol punch/prickle, relative to its bottling proof, that I experienced. A splash of water went a long way to mitigate the youthful alcohol, just splash conservatively as this whiskey can wash out quickly. While Legent did not displace Maker’s 46 as my favorite finished/blended bourbon, it's easily on my 'recommend' list. Truth be told, I’ve paid much more for worse whiskeys in the past. At $34.99, I foresee Legent staying on my shelf to be a weeknight pour as well as sharing with friends during a tasting to highlight just what blending and different woods can do to a whiskey.

I have one more Legent-centric post in the works, stay tuned for Legent & Friends.