Review #725 - Hardin's Creek Jacob's Well 211 Months Aged
Jim Beam's 'Hardin's Creek' series is a collection of premium bourbons that explores the effects of maturation micro-climates on small batches of whisky. There have been several releases in the series: different warehouses campuses (Clermont, Frankfort, and Boston), different warehouses (warehouses G, R, and W at the Clermont campus), and more.
This Jacob's Well version of the Hardin's Creek series is named for Jacob Beam, the "forefather of America's first family of bourbon," and specifically the well that he used to grow the crops for his spirit distillation back in the late 18th century or early 19th century.
This bourbon is aged for 211 months, or 17 years in 7 months, and we get a nice bottling strength of 54.5% ABV (109 proof).
Hardin's Creek Jacob's Well 211 Months Aged
USA - Bourbon
MSRP: USD 170 (2023)
Available Price: USD 320 (2025, based on recent auction results)
Age Statement: 17 Years
Strength: 54.5% ABV
Details: Bottled 2023
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Old oak and tobacco, a bit leathery, with drying vanilla. Very mature, and we get some baking notes like brown sugar, maple syrup, and demerara sugar. Cigar smoke gets stronger, accented by cola and a bit of plum - a lovely, dark nose.
Palate: A combination of drying oak and vanilla, fermented tobacco leaf, tart orange oil, and peanut oil; hot honey, cinnamon, cola, and chocolate continue the waves of flavor. Toasted almond, old polished furniture wood and a bit of a dusty character arrive; then it's butterscotch and more strong, peppery oak. The mouthfeel has a medium thickness.
Finish: Lots of leather and oak, a soft tannin, and baking notes of clove, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Strong tobacco or cigar notes, and there's a hint of a savory herb like sage, as well as some mint. The finish is medium-long.
Final Note: Lovely old bourbon - we found this batch of Hardin's Creek to be very tobacco-forward, which we love. Strong old oak, a lot of maturity, and while it leans toward the dry side of the flavor spectrum, there are some nice sweet flavors like cola, brown sugar, and dark fruit (plum). There are nice nuances as this bourbon changes over time in the glass; good complexity, a lot of layers. This is a great bottle.
Value at MSRP is fine, about average. This release from Hardin's Creek does command a higher price on the secondary market than some other batches, though; for a great bourbon like this, it could be worth it to use that avenue, but be careful not to overpay at prices of $250 or more.
Our Rating: 8.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating (MSRP): 6.14
Value Rating (Available Price): 4.97
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
