Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table Review

Brian’s Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table Review:

written on 06-April-2019

BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE REVIEW:

I am a BIG fan of Booker’s bourbon and waited to open this bottle until another was secured. My delay was rewarded with a wonderful treat … This bourbon ticks all the boxes: a favorable look in the glass, an inviting nose, flavours that explode in the mouth, and an exceptionally long finish.

BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE VITAL STATS:
Booker's 2018-04 "Kitchen Table" Review

– Category: Small batch bourbon
– Region: Clermont, KY, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam
– Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
– Cask: New Charred Oak
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– Age: 6 years 8 months 7 Days
– Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered
– ABV: 64% (128 proof)
– Purchase Price: $79.95 USD in Idaho (2018)
– Purchase again? Emphatically, “Yes” … if ever found on the shelf!

Booker's 2018-04 "Kitchen Table" Review

Jim Beam makes four Booker’s releases each year, and each release is given a name and special labeling. As Beam master distiller Fred Noe explained in a prepared statement, “The fourth and final batch of Booker’s Bourbon for 2018 is called ‘Kitchen Table,’ named after one of my dad’s favorite places. There, Dad liked to read the newspaper, tinker with his projects, and notably, it’s where he gathered our family and friends to help him select batches of his namesake whiskey.

This batch was produced on three different production dates and stored in six different locations. Keeping true to Booker’s small batch practices, barrel sourcing for this bottling breaks down as follows:
44%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse J
24%: 5th floor of 9-story warehouse J
14%: 5th floor of 9-story warehouse E
7%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse D
7%: 4th floor of 9-story warehouse E
4%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse E

Learn more at https://beamsuntory.com/

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass.

BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE NOSE:

Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table is a superbly balanced and inviting bourbon with no alcohol noted on the nose. Its simple and gentle aroma of sweet corn roasted over an open fire blends into caramelized buttery brown sugar with a hint of oak. With deeper and prolonged scenting, ripe plums come forward then give way to dark fruit leather covered in vanilla infused chocolate butter cream frosting.

BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE PALATE:

Kitchen Table is at first fiery and hot, but once downed the dram becomes full, flavorful and warming. With careful sipping, blueberries and dried prunes can be coaxed from the juice and there is the pleasant bourbon spiciness of white pepper and hot vanilla as well. Its sweetness is an enjoyable concoction of buttery brown sugar caramel and as the dram draws low, flavours of raw peanuts, well polished leather and mild, sweet oak slide down the throat.

Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
2018-04 is solidly balanced, big, and full, is viscous and warming but treats the throat with a little tickle. Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table’s fat clinging droplets drip down the Glencairn in thick clinging legs to reenter the burnt amber pool.

BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE FINISH

Kitchen Table’s finish is big, balanced, pleasant, rich, warm, and exceptionally long. As the last drops are downed, pleasant scents of new sawn oak planks waft from the Glencairn.

MY BOOKERS 2018-04 KITCHEN TABLE RATING: 91/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 91/100 to access other whiskeys with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Booker’s.

Bookers 2018-04 Kitchen Table

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Bookers 2018–03 Kentucky Chew Review

Brian’s Bookers 2018–03 Kentucky Chew Review:

written on 04-November-2018

BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW REVIEW:

Bookers 2018-03 Kentucky Chew is a fine bourbon. Even at its high ABV (63.35%), this third iteration of 2018 is an easy sipper as it warms the soul throughout an evening. The subtle favors are well-blended as the oak presents more and more as the dram is enjoyed.

BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW VITAL STATS:
Bookers 2018–03 Kentucky Chew

Category: Small batch bourbon
Region: Clermont, KY, USA
Distiller: Jim Beam
Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Age: 6 years 4 months 12 Days
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered
ABV: 63.35 (126.7 proof)
Purchase Price: $69.95 USD in Idaho (2018)
Purchase again? Emphatically, “Yes” … if ever found on the shelf!

Bookers 2018–03 Kentucky Chew

Jim Beam makes four Booker’s releases each year, and each release is given a name and special labeling. Kentucky Chew, Batch 2018-03 is named in tribute to Booker Noe … where he would take a sip of bourbon, work it around his mouth and then smack his lips a few times in such a way it appeared he was chewing on the liquid.

Keeping true to Booker’s small batch practices, barrel sourcing for this bottling breaks down as follows:
42%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse D
29%: 4th floor of 9-story warehouse D
8%: 7th floor of 9-story warehouse I
8%: 4th floor of 9-story warehouse I
6%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse J
5%: 5th floor of 7-story warehouse N
2%: 7th floor of 9-story warehouse J

Learn more at https://beamsuntory.com/

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass.

BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW NOSE:

Booker’s 2018-03 smells much older than its six plus years, not musty old, but more regal old, like a comfortable and well appointed private library. The aroma of dark fruit is there accompanied by the slight sweetness of apples, toffee and toasted pine nuts. Just two drops of distilled water brings on an aire of honeycomb sweetness, and as the dram is consumed, the oaken barrels in which it was aged.

BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW PALATE:

Booker’s 2018-03 begins strong and warm, but much less so than one might expect from its 126.7 proof. The first taste was rustic; refined aged leather and the dark sweetness of dried fig, followed by the same roasted nuts detected on the nose. When I attempted Booker Noe’s Kentucky Chew, my tongue picked up the intense spice of cloves, white pepper, and rye, along with an unusual but not unpleasant copperiness. Two drops of water opens this bourbon allowing its sweetness to shine through.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Booker’s 2018-03 has great balance, full body, and a silken feel in the mouth along with long legs which fall back into the old oak coloured nectar in the glass.

BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW FINISH:

Bookers 2018–03 Kentucky Chew finishes medium long and solid with a mouthful of yeasty baking spices entertaining the taste buds. As the sweetness disappears, its warmth in the throat lingers on.

MY BOOKERS 2013-03 KENTUCKY CHEW RATING: 91/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 91/100 to access other whiskeys with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Booker’s.

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Booker’s 2018-02 Backyard BBQ Review

Brian’s Booker’s 2018-02 Backyard BBQ Review:

written 28-July-2018

BOOKER’S 2018-02 BACKYARD BBQ REVIEW:

I love, Love, LOVE this Booker’s iteration, 2018-02 “Backyard BBQ”. I bought this bourbon to enjoy along side a slow-smoked brisket – and it did not disappoint. While the ABV of 62.5% is apparent, and black pepper is in the forefront, it is not overwhelming when enjoyed neat. This bourbon is an absolute new favorite for me.

BOOKER’S 2018-02 BACKYARD BBQ VITAL STATS:
Booker's 2018-02 Backyard BBQ Review

– Category: Small batch bourbon
– Region: Clermont, KY, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam
– Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
– Cask: New Charred Oak
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 64.4% (128.8 Proof)
– Age: 6 Years, 2 Months, 10 Days
– Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered
– Purchase Price: $69.95 USD in Idaho (2018)

Jim Beam makes four Booker’s releases each year, and each release is given a name and special labeling. Fred Noe (Master Distiller) says he named this particular batch in remembrance of his father’s festive summer barbecues, fondly called “Bourbon-ques,” which always included pork chops flambeed with Booker’s bourbon.

Keeping true to Booker Noe’s small batch practices, barrel sourcing for this bottling break down as follows:
32%: 6th floor of 9-story warehouse I
29%: 5th floor of 9-story warehouse E
17%: 7th floor of 9-story warehouse I
10%: 7th floor of 9-story warehouse E
8%: 5th floor of 9-story warehouse J
4%: 4th floor of 9-story warehouse E

See more at https://beamsuntory.com/

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I drank this spirit neat, then with several drops of water from a Mason jelly jar glass.

BOOKER’S 2018-02 NOSE

So subtle … no alcohol burn, no acetone, but lots of brown sugar sweetness, cinnamon, and oak.

BOOKER’S 2018-02 PALATE

Poured four ounces …
NEAT: The heat comes through but is not overwhelming. Sweet dark fruit. Plums come to mind but something else too. Baked pie … pumpkin? Nutmeg spices are there.
ONE DROP DISTILLED H20 (added at about 2 ounces):
The heat bursts through, but it is not unpleasant, the flavors become more blended.
TWO DROPS DISTILLED H20 (added after two small sips):
Maple sugar candy. So much so maple wafts out of the glass … Still, I prefer Backyard BBQ neat.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
This is as perfect a bourbon as I’ve ever had. Absolutely amazing with an auburn-polished mahogany coloration.

BOOKER’S 2018-02 FINISH

While the finish is relatively short, the pleasant and warming bourbon heat lingers on and on and on and …

BOOKER’S 2018-02 RATING: 92/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Booker’s Backyard BBQ is no longer produced and it is unlikely many bottles remain on store shelves. Still, if found (or any of the older itterations), purchase.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 92/100 to access other whiskeys with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Booker’s.

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