Bookers 2019-04 Archives – Whiskey for the Ages

Hannah’s Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits Review

Original review written June 20, 2020

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits Review: Another great, fruity Booker’s that pops as though it’s alive. Am I surprised? No. I can always depend on Booker’s for a great bourbon. 94/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam Distillery
– Master Distiller: Fred Noe
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Small Batch
– Age: 6 yrs. 6 mo. 19 days
– Mash Bill: Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 63.05% (126.1 proof)
– Price: $84.95 USD in Idaho

– From Master Distiller Notes: Beaten Biscuits was combined from whiskeys stored in two rickhouses/warehouses (WH) in three locations and is sourced as follows:
– 47%: 6th floor of 9-story WH H
– 42%: 5th floor of 7-story WH P
– 11%: 4th floor of 7-story WH P

Find more information at bookersbourbon.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

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

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

The sun is barely above the horizon and everything in sight is lit with a pink-orange flow. You’re perched on the deck of a cabin in the mountains and the evergreens in the beyond look a picturesque gold. The air is crisp, yet warm and fragrant with life.

Photo by Sonja Guina on Unsplash

NOSE:

Un-aggressive nose with plenty of warm, sugary notes including maple syrup, brown sugar, caramel and vanilla. It’s backed by cinnamon and white pepper mostly, but there is rye also. The longer the glass breathes, the more intense the alcohol becomes, making my eyes water on the inhale just a bit. Deep draws though can grant a grassy quality with a subtle stone fruit – perhaps plums? Strong and spicy oak sits underneath it all, wrapped in old leather and priming me for a sip.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: Very tickly and excited, like it’s Pop Rocks candy.
– Balance: Nothing sticks out, rather it blends very cohesively.
– Visual: Mahogany/Henna with lots of thin legs dropping from a strong crown.

– Taste: Grape flavored fruit leather comes across the palate first, with a hint of black pepper just behind it. There’s also the dark sweetness of black cherries, ginger and apricots. In other words, it’s a lot more fruity than the nose suggested.

I can detect a slight nuttiness factor that’s just a hint bitter. Not quite hazelnut, but maybe walnut, especially since it comes in this smooth, buttery package. Despite the smoothness of the walnut, the sip as a whole has a popping character that is excited and warm – a Booker’s trait, for sure. Imagine if Pop Rocks candy was maple flavored. Yep, you read that correctly.

The oak from the nose is still present too, now being less spicy and more of a strong hardwood you can sink your teeth into.

A Kentucky chew is electric with strong black pepper and rye, followed by a soothing, syrupy cherry. It’s a good chew, but unnecessary.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Long. The warmth clings to the tongue and at the back of the throat. Not painful. Just cozy.
– Between Sips: Baked goods, like rolls and breads sit between sips, chewy and with cinnamon-spiced fruits dispersed throughout. Definitely delicious.

– No More: This one is continuing to grow on me the longer I sip, with a pleasant warmth sitting in my chest and the alcohol burn becoming agreeable. Brown sugar and cherry are the dominating flavors.

The empty Glencairn is oaky beyond belief, with maple and caramel laced throughout. I really LOVE this.

WORTH THE PRICE?

Definitely pricey, but if you’re a fan of Booker’s or of warm sugar and fruit flavors in the higher proof range, give this one a shot. It’s really enjoyable, and as a small batch, also becoming rarer to find. Booker’s is always a good investment in my opinion.

RATING: 94/100

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Brian’s Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits Review:

reviewed on 20-February-2020

BOOKER’S 2019-04 BEATEN BISCUITS REVIEW:

Upon first nosing, a little alcohol is present and spicy oak, then a faint herbalness pairs with dark fruits. Spices of cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and rye, and sweets of brown sugar, buttery caramel and dark chocolate toffee are almost overwhelmed by the woody nature of this fine and earthy bourbon.

BOOKER’S 2019-04 BEATEN BISCUITS VITAL STATS:

– Region: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam, Master Distiller Fred Noe
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Small Batch: 2019-04 “Beaten Biscuits”
– Mash bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
– Casks: New Charred Oak
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– Age: 6 Years, 6 months, 19 days
– ABV: 63.05% (126.1 Proof)

MASTER DISTILLER NOTES:

Booker’s Batch 2019-04 “Beaten Biscuits” was produced on a single date and stored in two warehouses in three locations. The breakdown of barrel storage is as follows:

▪ 47% came from the 6th floor of 9-story warehouse H
▪ 42% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse P
▪ 11% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse P

LABEL INSPIRATION:

The final release in the Booker’s Bourbon 2019 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2019-04, “Beaten Biscuits.” This batch is named after the small, cracker-like biscuits Booker Noe loved to make.

_{Dad learned to make beaten biscuits from his grandmother, and he spent years trying to perfect the recipe. These little biscuits required the air to be beaten out of them (which is how they got their name), and they had little holes in them to keep them from getting stale too fast. He’d camp out in the kitchen for hours, tinker with the recipe, leave it alone for a while and then come back for more. At the end of the day, the biscuits didn’t have much taste to them. But that’s why Dad liked them – they wouldn’t alter the flavor of the country ham or the bourbon he loved to enjoy with them.}
^{— Fred Noe, Beam Family’s 7th Generation Master Distiller}

Learn more at https://www.bookersbourbon.com/

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, I shared the whiskey neat from Glencairn glasses with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

After pouring the dram and as I walk to my chair, brown sugar aromas waft from the Glencairn. Upon first nosing, little alcohol is present as seasoned, spicy oak comes first, then a faint herbalness of drying sweet corn pairs with dark fruits of plum, prune and fig. Spices of cinnamon, ginger, white pepper and rye couple nicely with the fruits to create a pleasant warming sensation. These aromas play well with a confection of well mixed light and powdered brown sugar, butter, milk and vanilla over gingerbread topped with a drizzle of woody caramel. Still, the aged and heavy old oak prevails, as the smoky-sweet barrel char blends into a petricor of leathery earthiness.

PALATE:

The first taste of Beaten Biscuits is all Booker’s, yet more subtle than other pours I’ve enjoyed. Yes there is the trademark Beam fruit-spice-sweet-nuttiness I’ve come to love, but as on the nose, woodiness reigns. The first sip bites with alcohol heat and has a grassy-herbal, dusty corn-grain, tobacco funk going on. Dark fruits of cherry and prune mix it up with spices of cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and rye, and sweets of brown sugar, buttery caramel and dark chocolate toffee. As noted on the nose, the dram is wood forward, with just a touch of toasted pecan and bitter walnut hiding in heavy old and seasoned oak and smoky sweet barrel char which for me, coax memories of old and earthy leather.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
In the mouth Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits is oily and yet at the same time rough and gritty. This bourbon is well blended, but for my tastes just a bit skewed towards wood and spice over the fruit and sweet. Make no mistake, it is fine juice, but (again for me) not quite on par with 2019-03 Country Ham – even though rickhouse barrel sourcing is shared with its sibling. In the Glencairn, the juice curtains the glass after each sip then breaks in thin legs to racing their return to the terracotta colored pool.

FINISH:

Beaten Biscuits has a medium finish as the blended aromas and flavors fade fairly fast. The warming essence of light cinnamon and pepper give way to light vanilla and brown sugar as seasoned oak char and leather tickle in the throat. And in the empty Glencairn, an oak lumber mill with plenty of old planks escapes to entertain the olfactory senses.

MY RATING: 90/100

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

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WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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