Brian’s Booker’s 2021-01 Donohoe’s Batch Review:
Review of Booker’s 2021-01 Donohoe’s Batch written 18-May-2021
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH REVIEW:
Booker’s 2021-01 Donohoe’s Batch (Booker’s 2021-01), the first release of 2021, is a fine bourbon. In my opinion, it is the best since the 2019-03 Country Ham release. Its fruit, spice and sweet aromas foretell what is to be tasted on the palate. And best of all it has the signature peanuttiness of Booker releases of old. I’m sure there will be detractors, but for me, I’m on the lookout for another bottle.
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH VITAL STATS:
Category: Small Batch Bourbon
Region: Clermont, Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Jim Beam, Master Distiller Fred Noe
Small Batch: 2021-01 Donohoe’s Batch
Mash bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Casks: New Charred Oak
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Age: 6 Years, 11 months, 4 days
ABV: 62.65% (125.3 Proof)
Price: 89.95
Availability: Seasonal, limited
MASTER DISTILLER NOTES:
Batch 2021-01 is made up of barrels from two production dates that were aged in six different rackhouse locations. The barrel storage breakdown for Donohoe’s Batch is as follows:
▪47% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z
▪16% came from the 2nd floor of 9-story warehouse H
▪16% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse X
▪9% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse X
▪8% came from the 6th floor of 9-story warehouse H
▪4% came from the 6th floor of 7-story warehouse L
LABEL INSPIRATION
“The first release of the Booker’s® Bourbon 2021 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2021-01 ‘Donohoe’s Batch.’ This batch is named in honor of retired Jim Beam employee Mike Donohoe who was also a close friend to my dad, Booker Noe. Without Mike, Booker’s Bourbon wouldn’t exist today.
In 1982, Mike joined the Jim Beam Company as a sales manager in Chicago – a ‘suit’ as Dad would say – after retiring from a seven-year career in the NFL. Mike first met Dad on a company trip to Kentucky. After taking a liking to Mike, Dad invited him to his office for a glass of bourbon. It was unlike any Jim Beam Bourbon he had tasted before. Booker let Mike in on his secret – he’d been playing with something different, and he’d share a bit of it with friends from time to time.
A few years later, Mike approached Booker with the idea to give bottles of his special stash as holiday gifts to their most important distributors and industry partners. With little time and almost no budget, Booker sourced wine bottles from a warehouse in Bardstown and wrote the labels himself to get the job done. Based on the hundreds of letters they received raving about that uncut, unfiltered whiskey, it’s safe to say the rest is Booker’s Bourbon history.
Dad always had the final say when it came to his Booker’s, but he trusted Mike to help him build it into the brand that it is today. ‘Mike gets it,’ he used to say. Now, I’m proud to honor Mike with a batch of his own.”
— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller
Visit Booker’s Bourbon to learn more.
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
For the evaluation, alternate amounts were poured into Glencairns after 1.4 ounces were removed from a newly opened bottle. The removed sample was added to our Infinity Project. The bourbon was enjoyed neat with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH NOSE:
Booker’s 2021-01 nips the nose with a strong but manageable ethanol bite. Once acclimated, fruit tree blossoms and roasted sweet corn blend with red berry nectar, Rainier cherries, plums, and gourmet raisins. With continued nosing, soft allspice and a faint nutmeg mix with white pepper. Then come buttery pie crust, graham crackers, vanilla custard, and sweets of maple sugar candy, buttery caramel, and peanuts bathing in light maple syrup. For a Booker’s, this is not a wood dominate bourbon. But I do get a little light sweet oak, and some toasted barrel aromas. Rounding out the freshness, I get a nice foundation of soft leather.
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH PALATE:
Booker’s 2021-01 tastes much like it smells and it gives the tongue an aggressive alcohol tickle when held. Continued sipping brings on roasted sweet corn and an herbalness which plays well with the flavors of red berries, Rainier cherries, and plum nectar blended in a spice mixture of light cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper. Then come sweets of brown sugared pie crust, faint but rich vanilla, buttery brown sugar caramel, and peanut filled toffee. As on the nose the wood flavors of fresh oak sawdust, toasted wood and light barrel char are there, but don’t dominate. And when all the flavors begin to fade, a nice leatheriness comes through.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Booker’s 2021-01 is a solid bourbon. While it gives the palate a tickle, it has an oily mouthfeel. After each sip, a veil forms in the Glencairn gives way to evenly spaced long, thin legs returning the liquid to the mahogany colored pool. Left behind is a thin crown with only a few small clinging droplets.
THE ADDITION OF WATER
Water can often tame big, bold whiskeys and the addition of 2-4 drops will not radically drop the proof of the pour. Rather, water may help open the spirit allowing the aromas and flavors to bloom. So, three evenings after the initial tasting, distilled water was added to Booker’s 2021-01 to learn its effect.
Two drops were added to 1.5 ounces, lowering the proof to 124.93 (down from 125.3). Two drops do little to calm the heat and the roasted sweet corn and herbalness as well as the black pepper remain. A fruit element can be sensed but it is less defined and I still get brown sugar, peanut toffee and a small amount of char. To me, two drops have a negligible effect on Booker’s 2021-01.
After enjoying the two drop sample, four drops were added to another 1.5 ounces lowering the proof to 124.57. Four drops dampen the heat ever so slightly and for my taste, the flavors begin to wash together. The herbalness is gone as are the peanuts and individual fruits. And while I like wood, it begins to dominate the sweet, leaving the black pepper to stand alone.
While everyone is different, for me, I’ll not be adding water to my pours of Booker’s Donohoe’s Batch.
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH FINISH:
Booker’s 2021-01 finishes long, warm and herbal. Faint plum nectar and a feeling of allspice and pepper coated citrus zest fade into rich vanilla and buttery caramelized peanuts. And like the nose and palate, the woodiness is faint with only a little char to note. When the last dram is downed, sweet brown sugar and seasoned oak is easy to draw from the empty Glencairn.
MY BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH RATING: 93/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Booker’s 2021-01 is a solid bourbon and for my profile the best of the last few batches. I will admit to the fact I am a Booker’s Fan and am always on the lookout for Booker’s offerings.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 93/100 to access other whiskeys with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Booker’s.
BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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