This whiskey was made by Master Distiller Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021. The juice spent 12-and-a-half years mellowing in warehouses C, D, K, L, and Q on floors one through three. If you're looking for something that strikes a note closer to the Booker's of old, the Booker's 2022-01 "Ronnie's Batch" would be worth checking out. Thats a shame because this is a hell of a sipper and more folks should be able to get their hands on this one. That spice does start to build towards the medium-length finish but doesnt overheat. If you're not old enough to drink, then you're not old enough to read Breaking Bourbon. Ohanneson explains that the "Holy Grail" of bourbon "is produced from just a few barrels and released yearly in very small batches.". The juice is barely touched with that soft Kentucky limestone water to take the edge off. Origin: Clermont, KY, U.S.A. Price: $60 for 750 ml. The spirit is aged for four years before theyre bottled individually without cutting or filtration. After completing the tasting, I added a few drops of water to my glass. Theres a mild holiday cake vibe with brown spice, nuts, and dried fruit mingling with touches of oak, chocolate-covered berries, and biscuits. That makes the barrels that go into this expression super rare. The whiskey in the bottle is generally at least 12 years old and bottled with no cutting down to proof or filtration whatsoever. Nose: Dates and other sticky dried fruit, like a fruitcake along with vanilla and spice. But what can I say? Its going to be very interesting to watch (and taste) where this bourbon goes. A cherry sasparilla maybe? The high proof guarantees a harsh alcoholic bite on the palate right off the bat, so the brand recommends adding water to it or serving it on the rocks. A dark and deep spice layer draws you in with that classic Old Foresters vibe of tart red berries, coconut cream pie, and plenty of wet brown sugar on the nose. The elder Noe is better known as Pinkie to his family and friends. Booker's releases around four batches of bourbon each year, each clearly labeled with the year number, batch number, and batch name so bourbon drinkers are up to date. The spirit carries on those paths as it layers in buttery and sugary streusel over tart berries with plenty of that spice next to a nice dose of salted caramels covered in a bit of bitter dark chocolate. During that time, the barrels spend time in the Buzzards Roost at the top of the rickhouse. This opens with a nose full of salted butter next to hints of very soft leather, light notes of vanilla bean, a touch of toffee sweetness, and freshly cracked walnuts with a dry edge. The finish is slightly brief, but its mostly light, focusing in on oaky dryness and a hint of orange peel. 125-128 Proof Semi-Limited Clermont, KY. By law, bourbon must go in the barrel no higher than 125 proof and be bottled no lower than 80 proof. Youre greeted with dried roses, marzipan, and creamy eggnog on the nose with a hint of apple and corn. And I really got into mixing Manhattans and Sazeracs with this one this year. While the water didnt significantly change the nose or palate for me, I did notice a very slight hint of fresh cut grass coming out on the finish. That distilled juice rested in barrels spread throughout three warehouses on several different floors. This is what a perfect bourbon tastes like. The nose opens with subtle notes of soft wood and worn leather next to light touches of dark berries, orange oils, egg nog spice, and slight toffee sweetness. The bourbon is made from a blend of corn, rye, and barley, and is aged for a minimum of six years in oak barrels. Thats just the nose. Still, this was a great whiskey that I want more of and thats what this list is about. You go back to it. Nicole Austin has been killing it with these bottled-in-bond releases from George Dickel. Order from the Largest & Most Trusted Premium Spirits Marketplace! The juice is another classic that hits a little higher price point but pours really well, especially if youre looking for a craft Kentucky bourbon gift this year. Until then, get in on the ground floor right here. Booker was a sixth-generation master distiller who grew up at a distillery in the heart of Kentucky. This much-lauded Texas bourbon is the highwater mark of what great whiskey from Texas can be. New Riff always delivers. But mines a pretty evolved palate, too just ask the guests on Expression Session. Jim Beam. Clocking in at 128.5 proof, Booker's allows you to experiment at home by adding as much or as little water as you want until you get to a profile thats just right for you. The nose on this is brilliantly fruity with touches of fresh raspberries, strawberries resting in dry straw, candied cherries, freshly peeled mandarins, apple cores and stems, and a touch of caramel malts. This whiskey ups the Eagle Rare game up in two ways. Pappy Van Winkle's 23 Year Family Reserve. We try to make them a little different if possible, because, if you dont its just the same thing. Naming and ranking the 50 best bourbons of 2021 is a fun, if difficult, task. For now, this bottle is contract-distilled (distilled at a big distillery based on their own recipe/concept) in Indiana from a mash bill of 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. Explore this storyboard about American Whiskey, Wine & Spirits . Palate: Whew.Before adding a couple of drops of water, this bourbon is . While the team at Pursuit United doesnt release the Tennessee distillery name, we know the juices from Kentucky and New York are from Bardstown Bourbon Company and Finger Lakes Distilling, respectively. The taste veers away from that with deeply stewed apples that are almost a warm apple sauce with cinnamon, clove, and allspice kicking up some heat as minor notes of marzipan, cornmeal, and cacao lurk far in the background. Whiskybase uses external services to enhance the functionality of Whiskybase.com these external services are: - Google analytics for analytics- Mailchimp for sending our newsletters- Paypal, Multisafepay and Stripe for handeling Market paymentsYour personal data (collection, purchase price, tasting notes, reviews and checkins) are not shared with other companies and are securely stored in our database. The entrance and use of this website and these Conditions are governed by Dutch law. The palate edges away from the spice towards a powdered sugar sweetness with a hint of dry vanilla. The finish takes its time as the mid-palate cherry sweetness slowly dissolves into an old wooden garden box full of fresh dark potting soil bursting with fresh mint and spicy nasturtiums. The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle. Freddie Noe hit this one out of the park. Booker's Bourbon Classification: Straight Bourbon Company: Beam Suntory Distillery: Jim Beam Released: Ongoing Proof: 128.5 Age: 6 Years, 2 Months Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley Color: Amber MSRP: $70 (2017) Official Website Buy Booker's Bourbon at Frootbat . Top 100 Bourbon of 2023. Here are the best bourbons to drink this year.. While I didnt notice much improvement with just a few drops of water, that doesnt mean you should avoid adding it to this one if you feel its too high in proof for your liking.Booker's surprised me at how easy it was to sip for being barrel proof. The palate starts off equally soft with something more akin to maple syrup sweetness which then leads into a rush of berry brambles. 13 years later, this juice was bottled at 100 proof (as per the law) and sent out to the wide world where it received much adoration. Bulleit's high-proof version of its flagship high-rye bourbon was conceived as a chance to taste one of the most beloved moonshines in the country straight from the cask. The nose opens with this rich and meaty plum presence next to a hint of buttery toffee and creamy vanilla with a touch of wood lurking in the background. That fruit and oak will carry through on the palate as hints of buttery toffee, rich vanilla, and peppery spice mingle on the tongue and set your lips abuzz. Booker's Small Batch Bourbon Review Region: Kentucky, USA Distiller: Jim Beam Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Cask: New Charred Oak ABV: 65.05% Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color Batch: C02-A-18 Price: $65 EYE Deep amber with orange accents NOSE This is a great classic bourbon nose. This bourbon has a decidedly oily texture, but hints of cocoa and touches of vanilla sweetness push that peanut butter note into the peanut butter cup space. Booker's delivered a long light lingering finish. In all Pigskin is a custardy spice bomb with so many of the flavors that made the now-legendary Bookers 30th so great. Master Blender Dave Carpenter built this small-batch bourbon off the back of barrels of very high-rye bourbon (60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malted barley) from MGP of Indiana. This websites is intended to serve general information purposes only. The information on this website is composed and maintained with continuous care and attention by Whiskybase B.V.. Freddie uses the vast stock bottles of whiskeys inside Beam's warehouses in this project. It's stored in barrels aged on the middle shelves within Jim Beam's nine-story rack houses. Michter's 20 Bourbon. The finish really takes its time as the cherry attaches to an old cinnamon stick and the tobacco takes on a sticky chewiness with a mild savory fruit edge. Theyre all goodwhich is part of the reason that demand has outpaced supply, and a bottle is now a little harder (and more expensive) to come by. Whiskybase is founded in 2007 with the goal to create the biggest resource of whisky information in the world. One final word before we jump in, price and accessibility are not factors here. While Booker's may have been the first mass produced barrel proof bourbon to hit the market, barrel proof bourbons are more common now than when Booker's was first introduced. It stands out. Pinhooks contract distilled bourbon is all about refinement. This edition is a mix of whiskeys finished in pear brandy, Jamaican rum, and Sicilian Amaro casks that are then batched. The actual whiskey is a two-year-old bourbon thats batched to highlight the bright fruits of this new and craft-forward whiskey. It's bottled at its natural proof of between 121 and 127, and aged between six and eight years. Booker's Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey. The nose draws you in with warming eggnog spice, creamy vanilla pudding, rich toffee, mild fruit, and a hint of wet cedar and very muted citrus. Enjoy looking through our list of best Bourbon whiskey brands. Those barrels were then vatted and just proofed to 110 before bottling in half-bottles. The barrels are pulled from various, undisclosed age ranges and vatted. Boston Batch was selected on an unseasonably cool and rainy day, according to the notes from Fred Noe. The barrels were aged for exactly six years and five months before the juice went into the bottle untouched at cask strength. While the six-year is a great cocktail bourbon and the 12-year is a fine sipper, this Tennessee whiskey is comforting neat, blooms nicely with a little water or on a rock, and will make one hell of a Manhattan. The cask strength bourbon is obviously pretty powerful stuff, and it delivers a raw and smoky drinking experience. Batch # 2021-04. The 2020 Booker's Bourbon batches have come to a close with this month's release of the final batch of the year, "Pigskin." And now that we've tried them all, it seemed like the perfect time to rank them. Each of these MGP barrels is hand-selected for its beauty and then bottled at cask strength to let that barrel shine through in the finished product. This opens with this medley of marzipan, soft leather, prunes and dates, Gala apples, a hint of cedar, and a whisper of ripe red cherry. Before we dive in, a few notes: First, we're ranking bourbon brands overall here, not individual labels or releases, so, don't expect to see two different versions of Four Roses go. Stagg Jr. vs Booker's. As far as cask strength bourbons, Stagg Jr. and Booker's are some of the more established products. The views, opinions . Sipping this bourbon is like coming home after getting stuck in a storm. Booker's Bourbon is a series of bourbons started by sixth-generation Beam master distiller Booker Noe, who died in 2004. The nose opens with deep vanilla that mingles with hints of dark chocolate sugar cookies with a touch of mint. This is unique and just interesting. There was a minute there where this might have been number one. Speaking of bottles I actually finish over the course of the year, I finished two of these since they hit the open market. They are both high heat, uncut and unfiltered. NOTICE: Many other small liquor store sites will end up . Booker's Bourbon is made in small batches around six times annually. I was lucky enough to get to sample a lot of whiskeys this year and narrowing all those drams down to 50 beloved bottles proved to be a little harder than expected. You really cant beat this bottle, especially if youre looking for a one-off bourbon gift. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Bernheim Barrel Proof Original Wheat Whiskey (Batch A223), Lifting the shroud on malted corn bourbon with Frey Ranch's Co-Founder Colby Frey, The definitive guide on how to drink bourbon. The nose is full of very bespoke dark chocolate-covered salted hard caramel toffees encrusted with almonds and pecans the kind you get from a chocolate shop that imports their goodies from somewhere like Belgium. The palate opens up towards the dark fruit but dries it out and married it to a sticky and spicy tobacco leaf while toasted cedar soaked in salted caramel vibes with dry corn husks that are just singed. Says Beam's Fred Noe: "The first batch of Bookers [sic] for 2016 is made up of barrels that were stored in 7 different rack houses. Its a great, bold whiskey that truly shines when mixed. The spices in that date-filled cake slowly rise after the sweet mid-palate veers into a soft and velvety finish that echoes with the woody spices but doesnt carry forward the heat from them. On the palate, very dark cacao dust opens up your taste buds as dates soaked in floral Earl Grey create a base for a moist and very sticky toffee pudding with a small dollop of the silkiest vanilla ice cream youve ever had. 3. One of the most expensive bottles by the Booker's is the Booker's Batch 2018-02 'Backyard BBQ' Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750 ml which starts from $2745. Their Discovery series continues to wow this year with another homerun whiskey that feels as special as it tastes. Its crazy-sippable neat while really going deep when you bloom it with a little water. In 1992, Booker introduced the world to small batch bourbon. That dry pepper holds as a light dry herbal note lingers on the senses. Weather matters when it comes to Bookers, and this year it feels like the cold was a pervasive theme. This thirst quencher was sourced from 6 different rickhouses with an age statement of 7 years, 4 months, and 14 days. This much-lauded and beloved bottle from Buffalo Trace is classic whiskey making. Either way, the juice goes through Michters bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentuckys iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof. I vouch for the whole list, top to bottom. That caramel sweetness merges into a fresh honeycomb next to Dr. Browns Cream Soda vanilla flavor and pep while the fruit dries out, leaving you with meaty dried figs, dates, and prunes driving the midpalate toward the finish. The juice in that bottle is a cask-strength blend of whiskeys from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The juice is a blend of four whiskeys three straight bourbons and one straight rye. Best for: Overall Bourbon Arguably the world's best bourbon whiskey, Buffalo Trace is serious value for money. Critic tasting note: "Originally touted by Booker Noe, the "Kentucky Chew" is a way of tasting whiskey: swishing it around your mouth, then swallowing and . That whiskey is then batched, proofed down with limestone water, and bottled. Youre greeted with that classic Beam cherry that has dark chocolate and brandy candy depth alongside clear Christmas spices next to a hint of menthol tobacco. The real beauty is in the softness of the taste. Barrell puts out a lot of whiskeys every year. Its one of those bourbons that I wish more people knew about and had a chance to try. 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