Brian’s Booker’s 2019-03 Country Ham Review:
12-February-2020
BOOKER’S 2019-03 COUNTRY HAM REVIEW:
NOTE: The review below was done from the first juice in the bottle, the “neck pour” (G1) and again a few days later to compare my findings (G2) …
G1: The nose of Booker’s 2019-03 Country Ham betrays what is to come. Country Ham’s subtle aromas are well blended and makes me salivate. But this is a hot juice. So hot, many flavors are masked and challenging to discern.
G2: In the second tasting, the much diminished heat allowed more flavors to come forward, making for a more enjoyable sip. This batch of Booker’s finishes long and warm.
BOOKER’S 2019-03 COUNTRY HAM VITAL STATS:
– Region: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam, Master Distiller Fred Noe
– Classification: Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Mash bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
– Casks: New Charred Oak
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– Age: 6 Years, 4 months, 2 days
– ABV: 62.35% (124.7 Proof)
– Price: $79.95 USD in Idaho (2019)
Country Ham is made from 364 barrels, produced on a single day and stored in two warehouses:
– 51%: 7th floor of 9-story warehouse H
– 44%: 4th floor of 7-story warehouse P
– 5%: 3rd floor of 7-story warehouse P
Learn more at https://www.bookersbourbon.com/
LABEL INSPIRATION:
From the Booker’s website …
“The third release in the Booker’s® Bourbon 2019 Collection is called Booker’s Batch 2019-03 Country Ham. My dad, Booker Noe, enjoyed the art of curing – and tasting – country hams almost as much as he enjoyed his bourbon. It was one of his favorite things.
“Some might say Dad’s love of country ham was inherited alongside his love for distilling. My great grandfather Jim Beam would hang and age ham inside his own smokehouse in the backyard, which still stands today. When Dad later moved into Jim Beam’s house, he followed suit. He would hang up to 50 country hams from the rafters of the smokehouse at a time, smoke them for a few days, wrap them up in newspaper and let the curing magic carry on for one year to eighteen months. He was so passionate about his ham that he was known to keep one in the trunk of his car. Once, he even brought it into a fine dining restaurant to show the chef what real Kentucky country ham should taste like.
“Just like his bourbon, Dad had high standards for his ham. And he liked to keep things simple – his bourbon neat and his country ham paired only with a cracker or biscuit. As you’re getting ready for the fall season, take a note from Booker and try a nice ham alongside a glass of Booker’s Bourbon. You won’t regret it.”
– Fred Noe, Beam Family’s 7th Generation Master Distiller
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
I enjoyed several ounces neat from a Glencairn with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah, and again a few days later when preparing this review.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
NOSE:
G1: The first wafts are subtle, yet straight up Booker’s. Even before my brain is in review mode, I’m salivating. The inviting aromas offer little alcohol but I do detect a bit of carefully spiced mulled wine tannin. Continued sipping brings on a stew of faint cinnamon-apple compote, prunes, and currents pressed into apricot fruit leather. Hints of dusty grain and faint, undefined citrus blend spices of ginger and white pepper which play hide-and-seek with sweet graham dust, simple syrup and woody caramel. In the sniff before the first sip, an earthy nuttiness balances hazy smoke-sweetness with dry sawdust. Even though there are a few distinct aromas, the juice is so well blended they are almost masked.
G2: The nose of the second pour is so much more. Now roasted corn is evident as is a pronounced chocolate covered dark cherry aroma. The other fruits lay in the background as well, but they’re still there. But now sweetness abounds in brown sugar caramel, and the juice’s earthiness is so much deeper.
PALATE:
G1: What a bite! Booker’s 2019-03 Country Ham is hot and the alcohol burns as the 124.7 proof asserts itself on the roof of the mouth and tongue. Even though assaulted, my taste buds demand more. As I struggle to get past the heat, tannins from the nose blend in dusty corn and dark fruit (maybe blueberries???), but the alcohol burns any distinct fruits away. Spices of cinnamon, black pepper, and rye rise above the dram’s subtle brown sugar sweetness as the prominent heat reigns. While not gentle, there is an oak barrel earthiness in the heat which makes me think peanut butter.
G2: The second tasting of Country Ham is dramatically different. While the alcohol is noticeable, the juice is now warming allowing dark ripe blueberries and dark sweet cherries in cinnamon to come through. The dram is so much sweeter in the second tasting and its earthiness brings in peanuts and heavy oak.
With water …
G1: Due to the heat, I added a couple of drops of distilled water. The bite and heat mellowed, making the juice sweeter and help the blueberry hold in the mouth. With water, peanuts and the bourbon’s oakiness are more pronounced.
G2: As the heat was less pronounced in the second tasting, no water was needed.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
G1: Booker’s Country Ham is well blended but its heat overpowers most flavors. It is big, bold and oily but at the same time rough and gritty. In the Glencairn, its ill defined inverted crown of droplets fall in long, fast legs returning to the burnt amber colored pool.
G2: In taste two, the fruit mixture expands and mixes with its earthiness to entertain the palate. This is a phenomenal bourbon!
FINISH:
G1 & G2: Country Ham finishes exceptionally long as its bite and heat linger on the tongue and throat. But in its finish, dark cherry fruit and simple sweetness become more caramel-like as the juice is drawn down. In the empty Glencairn sweet and hazy smoke and seasoned oak waft in the final nosings.
MY RATING: 92/100
Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
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.
WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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