Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Old Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A-

For a long time, the only brand in the Jim Beam portfolio that was more neglected than Old Grand-Dad was Old Overholt. The only two expressions in the line were the namesake standard and Old Grand-Dad 114, a favorite budget buy among fans of high rye bourbon. What is more, Old Grand-Dad suffered the indignity of seeing its proof cut from 86 to 80 in 2013. As a rule, the company has preferred to use its high rye bourbon stock and marketing muscle to build up Basil Hayden.

But a few years ago, Beam introduced Old Grand-Dad Bonded, and now they have brought out this new expression that sits astride the line separating the oldest middle aged whiskeys from the truly ultra-aged stuff. Old Grand-Dad and Old Grand-Dad Bonded are two whiskeys we have not written up for The Whiskey Reviewer yet, so I’m pleased to not let this 16 year old version get away.

Old Grand-Dad and Basil Hayden are not intertwined by accident. The brand was created by Raymond B. Hayden in the 1840s, dubbed after his grandfather, who was the actual Basil Hayden. At the turn of the 20th Century, the brand was acquired by the Wathens (the Wathen-Medley family still exists and makes Wathen Single Barrel) before landing with the nefarious Whiskey Trust that eventually became less nefarious and known as National Distillers, so it was still in production during Prohibition. In the late 20th Century, that was sold to Fortune Brands, which was later split off into Fortune Brands and Beam, Inc., with the later taking the conglomerate’s booze businesses.

So, Old Grand-Dad came into the hands of Jim Beam as part of the industry-wide consolidation during its nadir in the 1980s. It is the brand with the longest and best association with Clermont’s “high rye” bourbon mash of 63% corn, 27% rye and 10% malted barley, and that mash bill was created with Old Grand-Dad in mind, mirroring the recipe that came with the brand.

Jim Beam’s official word is that Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Old is a limited release, only available in select markets and as a one-time only bottling. It was bottled at 100 proof, but that it isn’t a bonded release suggests that 16 years old is only the youngest whiskey involved — there is probably a smattering of something older in there. After all, if it were all 16 years old, then it would come from the same distilling season and the same distillery, so there would be no bar on calling it bonded. I doubt the marketing guys would let that nugget slip.

The Bourbon
The pour has a lovely reddened amber look to it. The nose smacked of delicious, rich mix of dried apricots and dried red berries, with a note of cookie spices plus particularly earthy examples of caramel and nougat, so it was something like a candy. Or would be like a candy, were it not for the sliver of musty old oak in there.

The flavor runs with the fruitiness from the nose, taking it into the vein of strawberry and cranberry syrup. Accent that with a current of dry, peppery wood, a dash of cookie spices and a dollop of vanilla. The finish ran silky sweet with cookie spices (again), before turning sharply into a mildly astringent place.

The ride with my sample of Old Grand-Dad 16 was a lovely one. Between the (currently) unique nature of the expression, it’s contribution to reviving the Old Grand-Dad name and the fact that it was a lovely pour, I think it is pretty fairly priced (see below).

The Price
A bottle of Old Grand-Dad 16 is supposed to go for $195. There are retailers who are actually selling it for that, and if you can find one I endorse it. However, some retailers have marked this up as far as $250, and for that price I would take a pass.