Bookers Bourbon Review Archives – Page 3 of 3

Booker’s 2021-03 Bardstown Batch Review

Posted on 07-November-202127-June-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

Hannah’s Booker’s 2021-03 Bardstown Batch Review

Original review written November 3, 2021

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Bardstown Batch ticks all the boxes for me, and I am quite happy to have it in the bunker. Rich, deep, oily, fruity – yes, please and thank you! 94/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Clermont, Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Small Batch
– Age: 6 yrs., 5 months, and 0 days
– Mash Bill: Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 62.75% (125.5 proof)
– Price: $89.95 USD in Idaho

– From Master Distiller’s Notes: Bardstown Batch is made up of barrels that were aged in 5 different locations/warehouses (WH)… Breakdown is as follows:
27%: 5th floor of 9-story WH H
24%: 6th floor of 9-story WH D
19%: 5th floor of 7-story WH I
11%: 8th floor of 9-story WH J
11%: 5th floor of 7-story WH Z
8%: 2nd floor of 9-story WH H

Find more information at bookersbourbon.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

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

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

This bourbon begs to be enjoyed with some Italian, French, or even just garlic bread. Pour out some olive oil, sprinkle in some ground pepper and peppercorns and enjoy. I can imagine everything would complement and only make the other better. (Trust me, I’ll be creating an opportunity to try this.)

Photo by Frédéric Paulussen on Unsplash

NOSE:

This is very caramelly and vanilla-y on the first inhale, with plenty of depth and richness to immediately take note of. I catch some acidic plums, currants, and cinnamon. There is also a nutty earthiness, but I don’t think I could properly pin down the exact nut. For wood, I think barrel char is the most powerful, but gentler oaky notes can be found in this glass too. I can get corn as well, but I would say it works more as a base for the other, more pronounced flavors, rather than being a main contributor. The alcohol isn’t as offensively strong as I was anticipating – in fact, it’s relatively gentle and just gives a tickle more than anything else.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: First and lasting impression: Oily, oily, oily, and oily. Absolutely love it for this bourbon.
– Balance: The flavors all stick out independent of one another, but together, they make for a quite solid blend.
– Visual: Terracotta in color, I don’t find too many legs, but there is a defined ring that clings to the glass for some time.

– Taste: I can hold it at the front of my palate for a good long while before I feel any kind of alcohol burn. However, the spice is certainly quite forward and noticeable. I find black pepper, rye, and cinnamon, but there is some fruity sweetness present as well. Especially after holding it on the palate, I can taste cherry juice, plums, and baked apples. It’s a wonderful medley that works well with all of the spice. Dark vanilla custard and some barrel char finish off the pronounced flavors, and it truly does taste just sinful.

The alcohol, as stated, isn’t unbearable, but it’s a burn I already know has the potential to hug if you’re not careful. When I do a Kentucky chew, the alcohol isn’t as intense as I was expecting, but there are definite needles-in-tongue sensations. But they are tiny, and they wake up some oak and more cherry juice, which is just delectable.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium-long. The warmth certainly lingers, and I even get a bit of aftertaste, but neither are intense as I would have imagined them to be.
– Between Sips: Cherries, and apples can be found here between sips. They lift up the end of each sip, and prime the palate for the next.

– No More: The sweetness continues to grow the further into the glass I get. There is also a growing grassy element as well. It provides a pleasant extra tickle of texture and brightens up the darkness of the glass quite well.

The empty Glencairn is sweet and oaky, and even contains a bit of honey. I really love this.

THE ADDITION OF WATER

– This section written on November 6, 2021 –

Booker’s 2021-03 Bardstown Batch Review: Water can often tame bold whiskeys and the addition of 2-4 drops will not radically change the proof of the pour. Rather water may help open the spirit allowing the aromas and flavors to bloom. As such, 2 and 4 drops of distilled water were added to their own respective 1.5 oz. pours of Booker’s Bardstown Batch to detect any potential differences:

Two drops of water knock back a lot of the heat, and by doing so, it actually makes the pour smoother overall while not compromising the oily mouth feel too much. I find more cherries and caramel. There is also a greater sense of oak with the water drops, and it contributes greatly to the overall balance of this pour. It’s become a richer foundation in this bourbon and makes this overall, an even deeper whiskey. I’m enjoying this quite a lot, and I see myself being tempted again to add water to Bardstown Batch at times. The finish remains warm and rich. (RATING: 94/100)

Cherries are still prominent with four drops, and now I also find brown sugar. The wood has weakened, and the alcohol has mellowed out even more. It’s still smooth, and it has surprisingly retained some significant texture. I think this is still quite good, and if I hadn’t known this had water in it, I’d think this was a very decent bourbon neat. Do I think it’s worth adding four drops of water to, for extra oakiness, a loss of some of the complexity, and the weakened alcohol? No. But I’m not disappointed in having to finish this pour. (RATING: 90/100)

WORTH THE PRICE?

$90 is a big ask, but likely, if you’re already into Booker’s products, you’re wanting to give it a try. Out of the three released in the year 2021, this one sits right with Tagalong Batch, so if you enjoyed that one, and can find this one on the shelves, give it a try! And if you are looking to get into Booker’s, I do think this is a great one to whet your palate on, without feeling like you’re gambling too hard with a near $100 purchase.

BOOKER’S 2021-03 BARDSTOWN BATCH REVIEW RATING: 94/100

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Booker’s 2021-01 Donohoe’s Batch

Posted on 24-May-202128-June-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

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.}

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BOOKER’S 2021-01 DONOHOE’S BATCH TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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Booker’s 2019-04 Beaten Biscuits Review:

Posted on 22-June-202028-June-2022 by whiskeyfortheages

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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