Booker's Bourbon ★

Spirit Name: Spirit Type:	Booker's Bourbon Bourbon
Score:	91/100
ABV:	64.5%
Region:	Kentucky, United States
Body:	Medium-full
Intensity:	High
Texture:	Medium-buttery
Balance:	Superb
Best served: Age: Notes:	Neat, block of ice, with water... "any damn way you like!"  6-8 years  Uncut, unfiltered and straight from the barrel
Theme(s):	Powerful, cask strength English style rum, coffee bean, brown sugar, vanilla, smoky, yellow plum, Earl Grey, peppermint tea, cocoa, oak, green apple (toffee)
Summary:	Be prepared for a powerful kick of a selection of Kentucky's finest. This whiskey offers a Chuck Norris fist full of rye and corn, as coffee bean, tea and brown sugar is smoothed and softened by shades of buttery vanilla that evapourate into a smoky haze and lead to a dry, yet beautiful balanced, finish of astringent fruit and sweet creaminess - this is a violent onslaught of Texas Ranger proportions, sip with caution or wear a mouth guard.
Tasting notes:	Booker's bourbon is part of the Jim Beam small batch collection, which comprises of Booker's, Baker's, Basil Hayden's and Knob Creek (Small Batch with Port added is also available). This collection is a step up from the classic Jim Beam white label, and a stand out of the collection is the Booker's - a powerful "barrel proof" bourbon bottled at around 60-65% ABV and perfect for a powerful kick of a selection of Kentucky's finest.  Booker's bourbon takes its name from Booker Noe, a descendant of Jacob Beam himself and the father of current president of Jim Beam Fred Noe. Apart from an appreciation for bourbon, something I share with the late Booker Noe is an (acquired) taste for uncut and unfiltered whisk(e)y - they call it true "barrel proof" in the United States and "cask strength" everywhere else. This is the first bourbon to be bottled straight from the barrel, and it is inspired by a 200 year old tradition. Booker Noe tasting Booker's In the below video Fred Noe discusses and tastes the small batch collection.   The small batch collection aims to give consumers more complexity and character than the standard Jim Beam white label, and in this regard it is a resounding success!  Nose: An immediate thunder-strike of wholesome all American bourbon goodness hits the nose. The rounding sweetness of the corn smooths the sparks of spice from the rye, as the grain wrestles each other in an entertaining but elegant show. The nose is tannic, as the crisp oak snaps with chocolate and tea - Earl Grey and peppermint tea. Mild notes of vanilla also develop on the nose, with a dry apple cider vinegar and yellow plum astringency morphing into green apple (toffee) and powdered milk. This is possibly one of the most complex bourbon noses I have encountered.  Taste: That thunder-strike of American fury also proceeds to the palate, like a smack in the mouth by Chuck Norris - Walker Texas Ranger! It is furious yet surprising elegant and buttery, The alcohol ignites on the palate, very much like a cask strength English style pot still rum, and the flavours of vanilla, oak, coffee beans, cocoa and brown sugar radiate on the palate. This is powerful and mouth drying, but with enough sweetness to ward off the prolonged astringency.  Finish: Explosive, the dry oak and spicy rye dry the palate with sweet shimmers of brown sugar resting at the bottom of a half consumed espresso with a drop of buttery cream - beautiful.
Likes:	Complex, elegant, powerful and what bourbon should be - uncut and unfiltered.
Price:	$89 (Aus), $60-$70 (US)