A while back I wrote about the other-world bourbons coming to market. Their names representing opposite ends of the spirit spectrum. Angel’s Envy arrived about a month ago. The other bourbon will be arriving in Kentucky later in the summer. It is Jim Beam’s Devil’s Cut.

If you haven’t had Angel’s Envy yet, you can expect the taste to reflect the name. It is soft, velvety and smooth.

Jim Beam's new product: Devil's Cut at 90 proof. The foundation of the product comes the alcohol that is absorbed into the wood of the Oak barrels.

Likewise, I am expecting Devil’s Cut to be rich and bold. I’ll be trying some later this week. I’ll let you know if it tastes like its name.

So what is Devil’s Cut? You already know that for it to be called bourbon the corn based alcohol must be aged in new-oak barrels. And you know if you leave wood soaking in a liquid it eventually absorbs some of that liquid.

That must have gotten the Jim Beam folks thinking about how to extract that aged alcohol out of that wood and into the bottle. They figured out a way, but they’re not telling. They drain extra-aged, six-year Jim Beam Bourbon from the barrels and then agitate the barrels to capture that embedded bourbon from the oak. It is then blended to their standards to achieve their special product.

This alcohol has an extended close relationship with the wood so you can expect the flavors to be rich and bold with a deep amber color from the charred oak. I’ll let you know.

Here’s what Fred Noe, a seventh-generation Beam family distiller has to say: “The barrel is the soul of any bourbon – it always has been. With Devil’s Cut, we’re breaking new ground by unleashing that trapped bourbon from the barrel and giving people a chance to really experience that bold flavor in a way that they never have before.”

The bourbon has already been released in several states across the country – New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Ohio, North Carolina and Oregon. It will be released in its home state later in the summer.

Expect to pay about $24 for the 90 proof premium bourbon.

You gotta give those Beam folks credit, they don’t want to waste anything.