Booker's Bourbon Batch 2015-03 "The Center Cut"

This one was a damn lucky find. I popped my head into a liquor store right before it went out of business. Slow product turnover is bad for them, but great for collectors like me. I was able to score this 2015 Booker's, which Distiller has listed as a rare bourbon. Nose: Standard Booker's. No real deviation here; it's simply damn fine. Roasted nuts, caramel, vanilla, brown sugar. Big oak. Black tea as well. This one sits at 63.6%, yet the alcohol is masked by richness and complexity. Great nose. Came back to it months later. Getting a prominent sweet maple note. Only makes it better. Came back to it again at the end of the bottle. It's been open for about 8 months. I'm now getting almond, cherry, and leather in addition to those original notes. So impressive how this has evolved. I'll miss this one. Palate: Rich and vibrant. Sweet and spicy. Vanilla, cola, caramel, brown sugar, but also tobacco, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, and oak spice. Peanut brittle. And this could just be the power of suggestion (and it probably is) but I could swear I'm getting a chewy ribeye steak note. It could even just a note akin to what you'd get with a quality steak sauce. Either way, it conjures up this image in my head. Top notch. Months later, I'm getting the same maple note I now found on the nose. Great touch. Finish: Very long finish. Very spicy as well. Black pepper, cinnamon, oak. The basic bourbon notes of vanilla and caramel make themselves known before this finally fades away. Maybe even a bit of tobacco or black tea. I'm a Booker's fan boy. This one confirms this for me. This is my fourth unique bottle and I've absolutely loved each one. This one ranks in my top 2; if you put a gun to my head, I'll probably take Kentucky Chew. But this is by no means a step down and the palate here my even be superior. This was a great find. For $80, this was easily worth the price of admission. I'm sure that some places still carrying this one will realize that they can milk the rarity of this batch. But if quality is your only concern, don't waver for a second. I'm glad I've had the chance to cross this one off the list. If you like Booker's, buy with confidence. Well done, Beam. And months later, as I return to this one, I've gotta say it's better than a remember. And I already had it pegged at 5 stars.

Taste: 2 oz pour neat in glen cairn and then 4 drops spring water. Nose: (4.75) It is luscious and seriously Booker's. Let's you know right away that this is going to be a monster pour. Caramel, corn, a bit of maple, oak, apple, and that peanuttiness that comes from quality Jim Beam hits you right in the nose. It isn't a Mike Tyson type I am a brawler and knock you down punch, but more of a Muhammad Ali in his prime type I can dance and then knock you out type of a nose. There is ethanol but once it clears.... hello! Taste: (5.0) peanuts turn to peanut butter with the nice buttery coating. The front palate reminds me of every thing good about a taffy apple. Midway it give up maple syrup, and then the backend is oak. The palate stages like a rocket trip. I say this because it is not necessarilly a flavor bomb, but better. It is all that is good about vanilla, caramel, apple, peanuts, and then musty, tannic oak. There is also a chewiness in this that really makes it interesting. Finish: (5.0) Hugs you, cuddles you and then kicks you in the ass as if to say, "get some." The finish is long, luxurious and like watching Ali finish off an opponent after he ropa-doped him. A barrel proof of this skill belongs on my shelf. Overall: This lives up to the praise. This is what I look for in bourbon! It is strong but not rough. It is polished but not afraid to take it to you. It floats like a butterfly but stings like a bee!. Glad a Minnesota friend got me 2 bottles at $59 because I will not give them up for double.

Decided to try some bourbons the last days: Eagle Rare 10 years - good but too sweet for my taste 3.4 rounded down to 3 stars. Four Rouses Single Barrel - fits better my taste but quite not there - 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars Wellers Antique - Good surprise - it has the sweetness expected from a wheated bourbon but with a spicy kick that gives it balance. 3.7 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I didn't make any taste notes on them because for me (a scotch guy), bourbons quite taste the same... Until now! This one is for sure my first WOW bourbon experience! As the expert reviews says it has some smoky meat notes on the nose that translate into some charred herbal notes on the palate. Outstanding! A solid 4.5 stars for me but have to round it down to 4 stars as it isn't on the same league of my 5 stars rated scotches.

So I buy 1-2 bottles of Booker's a year. Here is it 2020 and I have had this 2015 center cut stashed away. No real reason why other than I've just drank the more recent versions as they were easier to get to. Wow! You'd think every batch be so similar that it's consistent. Not so. This is probably my favorite bottle yet! I could have sold it for a small fortune but what's the point. I'm enjoying it after a long week. Seems more flavorful than most. At $80 per bottle, this is probably still the best value for a top end bourbon. PLUS it's available. I'm in Indy, it's everywhere. Kroger for $72. Glad I tucked this one away by accident. Glad to be enjoying it instead of just saving it.

Exquisite ruby brown in color, with a thick maple smell (from a safe distance); this bourbon glazes your entire mouth in a hot, spicy elixir—chewing through wood spices, aromatic pipe tobacco (the kind you associate with your grandfather), dried fruit; a few drops of water enhance the praline sweetness, bringing out vanilla and melted butter; the aftertaste is musty, peppery, and sports the herbal/medicinal aspect of molasses; you have to lick the astringent, barrel mouthfeel off your palate, and this is followed by an infernal cinnamon finish. Sublimely paired with Barrel + Rye's locally sourced Brie burger, topped with grilled pears and caramelized onions.

This is a really great batch - as good or even better than 2015-01 imho. Wonderful, maple and nutty nose that gives way to strong barrel strength whiskey smell. I get toasted nuts with a bit of vanilla and dried apples; then a quick punch of alchohol that fades into a long cinnamon and clove aftertaste. very low burn for something this high ABV, so I drink this one neat which is saying a LOT (2015-01 and four roses private selection OBSQ are two other barrel strength faves and both absolutely require some water). Considering purchasing a case of this before it's gone.