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
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 89/100 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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