Bookers 2020-01 Grannys Batch Archives

Hannah’s Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch Review

Original review written on September 15, 2020

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch Review: Everything about this is different, from the nose, to the palate, to the finish, yet the distinct Booker’s bite is here. Not my typical bourbon, but I LOVE it just the same. 96/100

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. 21 days
– Mash Bill: Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 63.20% (126.4 proof)
– Price: $84.95 USD in Idaho

– From Master Distiller’s Notes: Granny’s Batch is made up of barrels from two different production dates that were aged in six different locations within four warehouses/rickhouses (WH)… Breakdown is as follows:
– 24%: 6th floor of 9-story WH G
– 24%: 5th floor of 7-story WH L
– 22%: 4th floor of 9-story WH H
– 16%: 4th floor of 7-story WH L
– 10%: 6th floor of 7-story WH L
– 4%: 5th 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:

The drink may scream wood and freshness, but I think Granny’s Batch is pour you take outside in the middle of the desert, just as the sun is going down. Cacti cover a sandy floor and the air is cooling as the sun disappears behind a mountainous terrain and the stars come out.

Photo by Nicolas Moscarda on Unsplash

NOSE:

Nuts, nuts, nuts, and more nuts. That is definitely what hits first, warm and rich. I’d say there’s some chestnuts, but really, it’s peanuts ground down to a grainy peanut butter. This smells A LOT like a peanut butter/toffee granola bar I like to snack on regularly. On deeper draws, I can pull a little grain that seems relatively soft. A little chocolate and caramel goes along with the toffee, but it’s quite gentle and not at all overpowering.

I get wood – a mixture of oak and pine – on the back of the palate. It is an incredibly earthy wood too – almost like broken off branches that have a cool, dewy dirt clinging to them. Touch of black pepper makes this even more savory.

Despite this being such high proof, very little alcohol burn or even presence is detectable.

PALATE:

– Mouth feel: Sharp and single, then evaporates like nothing I’ve ever had before. Love it!
– Balance: Earth everywhere, but in a wide variety of flavors.
– Visual: Carrot in color, there is a thin crown, but long, thick legs are present.

– Taste: This is really earthy, with a refreshing pine or biting herb like rosemary. Not quite so cool as mint. The nuts are still here, but they are much milder in body, yet somehow sharp on their approach.

The back of the palate offers a fleeting cherry that hits the salivary glands just so. I find old leather here also – the kind of an overstuffed chair you snuggle into for a nap.

There’s a soft grain paired with a slightly sharper rye. The grain could even be a green vegetable in disguise. However, it’s mild and offers an extra something that actually rounds out the savory flavors of herbs and wood really well.

Not getting a lot of alcohol here either, but just enough to nip. A Kentucky chew is straight up fire and barrel char, eventually chased away by a smoldering cherry that soon explodes into its own burning flame.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Very long. I can feel the warmth in my cheeks all the way to my chest. Sometimes, I’ll get a resurgence of heat out of nowhere. It didn’t happen in this pour, but I can tell Granny’s Batch has the potential to give a very painful Kentucky hug.
– Between Sips: A little cherry, and lots of peanuts linger between sips. I also get a slightly sweet, grassy element that I can chew even after the sip is gone.

– No More: The flavors stay strong and warm throughout the glass, with wood and nuts staying dominant. Very pleased with this and this bourbon. Already can’t wait for my next pour. (Indeed, I had some more the following day after this review. It was still fantastic.)

The empty Glencairn has chocolate-covered almonds and nuts along with warm oak.

WORTH THE PRICE?

For me, Booker’s is always an experience. From the packaging and stories that come with the bottle, the batches are always an adventure. Sometimes, I don’t end up thinking they are necessary to add to the collection, as they are priced fairly high. However, this bottle, I think is definitely worth it, and it is packed full of any type of adventure you could be looking for.

RATING: 96/100

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Brian’s Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch Review

evaluated: 15-September-2020

BOOKER’S 2020-01 GRANNY’S BATCH REVIEW:

Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch, the first offering of 2020, is different from the previous batches I’ve enjoyed. There is still plenty of herbal corn and grain mixed with the typical peanut notes – and a touch of spice and sweetness to entertain the senses, but little of the fruit I’ve come to expect. It is a wood forward drink and has a long lingering finish. It’s good, and I’ll have another.

BOOKER’S 2020-01 GRANNY’S BATCH VITAL STATS:

– Region: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam, Master Distiller Fred Noe
– Classification: Small Batch Bourbon
– Small Batch: 2020-01 Granny’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, 4 months, 21 days
– ABV: 63.20% (126.4 Proof)
– Price: $84.99 (Idaho Feb 2020)

MASTER DISTILLER NOTES:

This batch is made up of barrels from two different production dates that were aged in six different locations within four rackhouses. The barrel storage breakdown is as follows:

▪24% came from the 6th floor of 9-story warehouse G
▪22% came from the 4th floor of 9-story warehouse H
▪16% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse L
▪24% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse L
▪10% came from the 6th floor of 7-story warehouse L
▪4% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse P

I selected “Granny’s Batch” on a sunny, chilly January day and found the color to be a light chestnut with a beautiful sparkle as the sunlight shone through it. I thoroughly enjoy the nose of Granny’s Batch with spice and hints of vanilla coming through. The taste fills your mouth with flavor and warmth that spreads across your palate, and it has a sweet, lingering finish. I am very proud to name this batch for my grandmother – and Dad’s mom – who I know would have enjoyed her evening highball made with Granny’s Batch of Booker’s Bourbon.

LABEL INSPIRATION

The first release in the Booker’s® Bourbon 2020 Collection is Booker’s® Batch 2020-01 “Granny’s Batch.” This batch is named after an important figure in my dad Booker Noe’s life – his mom and my grandma, Margaret Beam Noe.

Known all my life as Granny Noe, Margaret was the youngest of Jim Beam’s children and the only one to have kids of her own. Although she never worked in the bourbon business herself, she certainly played an important part in keeping the bourbon family tradition alive from the fifth to sixth generation. She and her oldest son Booker were very close, and she was instrumental in getting him his first job at the distillery where he would go on to become Master Distiller, create his namesake bourbon (among others) and leave a lasting impact on the industry as a whole.

Granny was a gracious, patient woman who ruled the roost in her own quiet way. When she wasn’t keeping track of her kids and grandkids, Granny enjoyed a bourbon highball in the evenings, playing bridge with her girlfriends and making her famous nut cakes at Christmas time.

In her honor, I hope you enjoy this batch alongside close family, friends and long-standing traditions.

— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller
Learn more at https://www.bookersbourbon.com/,

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, alternate amounts, equaling about 4 ounces, were poured into Glencairns after 1.5 ounces were removed from a newly opened bottle. The bourbon was then enjoyed neat with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

When simple draws are taken, there’s no alcohol, however with heavy nosing, a slight medicinal aroma tempers the nip of strong alcohol and faint acetone. Again with easy nosing, herbal notes of roasted corn and dusty grain waft, my brain senses Booker’s, but this whiskey lacks the typically big fruit component I so often find. Sure there is a trace of sweet cherry and plum mixed in dark fruit leather (with an odd essence of bitter orange), yet it’s just a hint. Spices of pepper and rye mix with sweet rich vanilla, caramelized sugar, orange blossom honey and light molasses, and just like fruit these too are are fleeting.

But there is an unfamiliar and prominent sweet/spice compote too: a BBQ rub – peanut oil mixture! The rub/peanut oil combo is new in a bourbon and until I fixed my nose to the scent, it nearly masked all other aromas for me. Now I’ve come to expect peanuts when enjoying Booker’s and to my nose, fresh roasted peanuts are in abundance. Even with this odd mix of aromas, Granny’s Batch is not harsh and in traditional Booker’s fashion, this bourbon is quite wood forward … heavy, strong, old oak (with a little piney woodiness) it pairs nicely with the sweet barrel char and an earthy aroma of freshly stained leather.

PALATE:

Strong bourbon alcohol hits the tongue from the first sip. While there is a quick burn, and even a little bite, Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch is more warming than anything else. As on the nose, herbal roasted corn and dusty grain reign, but only the faintest of bitter orange essence dances on the taste buds. Spices and sweets are sparse as well, just black pepper, rye and some woody caramel treat the palate. The rub concoction sensed on the nose, is gone but oh the nuts – like peanuts in Skippy Super Chunk peanut butter fused in an extra nutty Skor toffee candy bar. And just as wood-forward as the nose, heavy, strong, old oak adds additional depth to the smoky sweet barrel char and earthy leather.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch is hard to hold in the mouth for an extended length of time. It is well balanced and creamy from the first sip, but at the same time rough and gritty with a little coppery effervescence. Still it does not drink like a 126 proof whiskey; it’s easy to sip. When swirled in the Glencairn, the liquid forms a crownless ring, from which thin legs of liquid quickly return to the carrot colored bowl.

FINISH:

Booker’s 2020-01 Granny’s Batch has an extremely long finish of roasted corn, dusty grain and plenty of peanuts. As the liquid is drawn down, the same lumber train sensed on the nose and palate lingers as well; heavy, strong old oak. When empty, the Glencairn offers sweet scents of caramel and light sweet oak, sawdust … and of coarse, peanuts.

MY RATING: 89/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? YES
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WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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