Tag: Bookers 2019-03 Country Ham

Hannah’s Booker’s 2019-03 Country Ham Review

Original review written February 8, 2020

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

A little on the baking flavors side for a Booker’s, Country Ham perfectly combines sugary sweetness with an explosive spiciness. As it stands, this is my favorite bourbon I’ve ever tasted. Read my full Booker’s 2019-03 Country Ham Review here! 97/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam Distillery; Master Distiller: Fred Noe
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Small Batch
– Age: 6 yrs. 4 mo. 2 days
– Mash Bill: Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: New charred oak; Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 63.35% (124.7 proof)
– Price: $84.95 USD in Idaho

– *From Master Distiller notes: Country Ham is made from 364 barrels produced on a single day stored in two different rickhouses/warehouses (WH) and sourced as follows:
51%: 7th floor of 9-story WH H
44%: 4th floor of 7-story WH P
5%: 3rd floor of 7-story WH P

*Find more information at bookersbourbon.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the juice neat from a Glencairn with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

This bourbon could be enjoyed anywhere you feel at peace, as long as you have some whole wheat toast and jam at the ready to complement the spicy and fruity warmth that you’ll find in the glass. Dig in!

Photo by Frame Harirak on Unsplash

NOSE:

Though there is a distinct Booker’s alcohol nose, this is still surprisingly mellow for something nearing 125 proof. There is almost a red wine/cabernet essence to it, with subtle tannins and dates mixing with the grape-y-ness.

As I continue to let it warm, there is a sweet aroma of milk chocolate that kicks in, blended with a touch of chili and rye for spiciness. The chili is only very apparent on deep inhales, which comes with a stinging alcohol bite, so be cautious.

More nosing coaxes out a fresh maple syrup and dark brown sugar, like gingerbread. For wood, I get an indistinguishable spicy barrel feel.

Overall, it’s a sugary, but deep and rich nose that has me eager to sip.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: Textured. I’d like to pitch a tent in one of those rich flavor pits.
– Balance: Amazing. I love the seamless transition between sweet and spice.
– Visual: Burnt amber in color, there is a weak crown, with few to no legs.

– Taste: Upon the first sip, I am immediately reminded that this is a high proof bourbon. I get a spiced, dark fruit component overwhelming the tongue, but it’s difficult to identify exactly what it is, beyond that it is dried. If I had to pick, I’d likely stick to the dates from the nose, but there are figs here too as well as dark chocolate covered raisins. Perhaps it’s meant to be more of a dark, dried fruit medley as opposed to any one fruit in particular having a leading role.

Flavors continue to develop with bursts of cloves and cinnamon to pair with light caramel and chopped, unsalted peanuts that have been frozen (think of a drumstick ice cream cone). I’m struggling to get much for grains, but the oak is sweet and chewy, and it keeps me going back for sip after sip.

A Kentucky chew scalds the tongue with cinnamon and black cherries. Even though this hurts, I want to do it again just for those flavors.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Very long. That warmth settles into every nook and cranny, along with pleasant flavors that wrap themselves around my molars.
– Between Sips: Rye, cinnamon, caramel and a hint of juicy dates keep me company between sips, though the waiting time for that is a little short.

– No More: This stays warm and rich with the dark fruitiness all throughout the glass, and I could not be happier. This is just a really fantastic bourbon, easily among my favorites of all time.

The empty Glencairn is a dry oak with some fig hiding just as the back. YUM-YUM-YUM.

WORTH THE PRICE?

We are approaching the $100 mark here, so hesitation reaching for a bottle is understandable. However, if you are a Booker’s fan or like fruity, hot bourbons, you’d be remiss to not grab at least one bottle. Since it is my among my favorites, I will pay the $85 price for this bourbon.

RATING: 97/100

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To access other whiskies from this brand, click Booker’s.

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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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