Old Grand Dad 7 Year Old Bottled in Bond Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

Jim Beam earned the top spot as America’s best-selling bourbon company only in recent years, and much of the credit for seizing that crown does not go to Jim Beam itself. Instead, it goes to the steady promotion of the many brands owned by the company. The endgame came when Beam turned its attention to several long neglected brands, among them Old Grand Dad. Once upon a time, this venerable brand was limited to the same 80 proof, four year old straight bourbon; the 114 proof straight bourbon; and the bonded version as it had been for decades.

Only in recent years did Beam begin developing new expressions, revamping others and generally upgrading the brand. The original trio still exists, but are now buttressed by a single barrel, 7 year old version; likewise, the bonded Old Grand Dad is supported by a 7 year old version.

Introduced in 2025, I think Old Grand Dad 7 Year Old Bottled in Bond is an interesting and somewhat ironic move on the part of Jim Beam. One reason Old Grand Dad languished for so long was Jim Beam was pouring attention into building up Basil Hayden. The Hayden brand began as an expression of Beam’s high rye bourbon stock that was twice as old (8 years) as anything Old Grand Dad was doing. It was meant to be the approachable-if-dry member of the 1990s era Jim Beam Small Batch Collection. But during the Bourbon Boom, Basil Hayden lost its age statement, much as Knob Creek did. Knob Creek got its age statement back, but Basil Hayden never did, despite the plethora of Basil Hayden releases over the years.

So, while keeping the age statement off of Basil Hayden proper, Beam has introduced a whiskey drawn from the same fundamental stocks, almost as old as the original version of Basil Hayden, and 20 proof points stronger. And all of this is at a price which is comparable (see below).

The Bourbon
Once in my glass, the bourbon lightened out of the bottle. Old Grand Dad is already on the lighter side in color, which I attribute to rye tending towards copper. Then again, sitting next to an orange label is pretty suggestive all around. The liquid has a mid-to-light amber coloring.

The scent toasty and nutty, but absolutely not peanutty; I live in a town with a peanut butter factory, know that smell intimately and this is not that kind of nuts, whatever other reviewers might think. Hazelnut perhaps? Going past the initial nut note, however, it enters into brown sugar, vanilla and orange zest territory, all of that stuck on an oaken skewer.

Imagine the flavor as a gussied up serving of cinnamon toast, but somehow without the bread. Cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, a drizzle of caramel syrup. There is touch of buttery-ness and chocolate lurking in the background, but not nearly enough to take my analogy to saying its on a chocolate wafer. Hovering in the background throughout is a hint of oak.

The finish opens with cinnamon and sugar, which fades quickly to leave oak accented by the quasi-hazelnut note from the scent.

The Price

Expect to pay $40 a bottle for this item. As written above, a price point comparable to the standard Basil Hayden. Perhaps a side-by-side comparison is in order?