Booker's Bourbon Batch 2016-01 "Booker's Bluegrass"

If you've read any of my previous Booker's reviews, you'll know I'm a huge fan. When I find a dusty bottle from years gone by, it's pretty much an automatic purchase. So when I saw this Booker's Bluegrass in a small liquor store that I happened upon by chance, it was an immediate buy. This is the first of 6 batches from 2016. At this point it's a rarity. Bottled at 63.95%, it's just shy of being the strongest Booker's I've had to date (Kitchen Table and Bluegill Creek are 64%). It's 6 years and 11 months on the dot, which is slightly above average based on what I've had in the past. Enough about all that, on to the tasting. Nose: The first thing I notice is a massive amount of baking spices. Waves of nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Pumpkin spice and maple. Behind that is cinnamon and ginger, the latter of which I've never gotten in Booker's before. Classic Beam peanut brittle and caramel, as well as cocoa, brown sugar, and vanilla. Fudge and milk chocolate. Some cherry and new car leather. A touch of pipe tobacco, cocoa, and as always, a hefty serving of oak. Superb start. *Some apple pie in the empty glass. Palate: Upon entry it's all leather. Beyond that is more peanut brittle, brown sugar, and caramel. An absolute whopper. All of the spices are in tact; it's another surge cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. A bit of ginger and black pepper. In addition to peanut, there's also walnut and toasted almond. Apricot. Carrot cake. Black cherry. Maybe even bitter/sweet dark chocolate. Nougat and fudge. And, of course, loads of oak. It's an absolute juggernaut, and can be overpowering if you're not ready, but is as complex and intriguing as any other bourbon I've had. Finish: Cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Fudge. Wave after wave. It's an absolute spice bomb. I also get some cocoa, caramel, and brown sugar. Finally, peanut brittle, carrot cake, and oak. About as long a finish as you can imagine. It's been 2-3 minutes and I'm still getting hit with a periodic sensation of spice and oak. It's absurb--in a good way. What a find. I consider myself lucky to have stumbled upon this piece of history. At $71, I'd pay for this all day. Sadly, I doubt I'll ever have the privilege of buying another. 5 stars. It's as good as any other Booker's batch I've had. I had the chance to conduct a side-by-side comparison between this and the Center Cut batch before finishing the latter. That was the most unique and interesting Booker's I had have had to date, and, overall, this Bluegrass held up on even footing. Every batch is worth the trouble for a different reason. All near-perfect pours. I love the aggressive, spicy, and oaky nature that this one exhibits. Buy on sight, folks. Edit: A year later, I'm down toward the end of the bottle and it's only improved. I haven't had the chance to compare this to Center Cut, but at this point, I may have this one pegged at number 1 of any Booker's rendition. I put it in my top 2 without reservation. Amazing. Second edit: Came back with a fresh bottle almost three years later. As amazing as I remembered, with a couple new notes sprinkled in. Stunning bottle.

Found a bottle of the 2016 at my local store, and just had to grab it. My first experience with Bookers, and I hope it’s a good one. Look: Bookers comes out damn near brown, definitely a dark dark amber, with the edges showing some slight yellow. The proof-age show with the color. Twirling the glencairn, I don’t see a lot of alcohol legs, but there is some, and lacing that looks like it’s defying gravity. Nose: I don’t even have my nose up to the glass, and I’m getting some good aroma. Tons of sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, smells really sweet. Sticking my nose in the glass gives me more spice, but not a pepper, more a sweeter clove, slight cinnamon, then a nice milder oak. Palate: Initial flavor is that sweet sugary flavor, and then in a split second it goes to spice, and oak. After the oak I get hit with more sweetness, maybe cherries. Finish: Holy Christ, the first three seconds of this, I thought this was like a milder proof bourbon, and then, the heat hits big time. More so than after the swallow, the heat really hits more on the tongue and mid palate. Finish is the cherry and oak. Overall: I was expecting a lot out of this, considering how much Beam likes to charge for these bottles, and I’d say expectations are about what I’d expected. You’re getting a high proof bourbon with tons of flavor, and while the burn is intense, not as much as I’d have expected. Definitely worth grabbing.

I have to admit, this stuff is too hot for my taste. At 127.9 proof, a few more years of aging could potentially make this quite enjoyable. Straight out of the bottle however, this will melt your face. Even with a few drops of water, the heat is really intense, taking away from the elements and leaving your tongue feeling punished for a crime it didn't commit. Is it fun? Yes, but fun like "I'm jumping in this pool with all my clothes on because I've got a change of clothes in the car and won't have to deal with wet chafing in the next 10 minutes" is fun. You want the laughs, the reaction and the memories but also want to dry off quickly. With this bourbon, you want the laughs, the reaction and the memories but also want this dram to stop punching you in the face sooner than later.

The first time I had this, it shocked me with its strength and intense flavor. Overwhelming, but so... good. Five months later, and I appreciate it even more. Nose of roasted nuts, wood, vanilla, and alcohol heat. You definitely feel the proof, but the flavor is also strong. This is the Beam flavor profile on steroids. Nuts, honey, spice on the palate. Backend is all leather. The warmth is there going down all the way to the stomach, but not as crazy as expected given the proof and the 2x4 that hits you in the face when you first take a sip. Adding a limestone water ice cube brings out even more peanuts and nocino on the nose, tames the heat and heightens the sweetness a bit on the palate. But I recommend taking this straight. It's a force, enjoy the ride. 3/12/17

Second sit down and taste with this one and the second tasting re-affirms my first. This is a STRONG offering. Letting it breathe off some of the ethanol and adding some water opens up some thick caramel, butterscotch, fruit (strikes me as grapey) and oak. But this is a spicy rye forward sip from the get go not to be trifled with. Newbies will hate it because it will seem too strong. It is a veteran dram and one you want to spend some time with to really appreciate. It is not any everyday bourbon it is a big gun and is a great barrel proof offering. As close as you will ever get to drinking right out of the barrel. Has that gritty, frontier man whiskey feel to it. I like it, I (don't exactly) love it.....I want some more of it.

Rested 10 minutes. Served neat in a Glencairn. Nose - plum, cherry, vanilla, a little sting on the backend Palette - gives you this dark chocolate cherry kick, baking spice, oily, coats the palette and makes room for the finish Finish - if there was a chocolate red hot? Lol. I imagine that would taste like this. A nice lingering finish that makes you want more Really great but lacks some complexity that I’m looking for, which is gonna keep it from being one of the best I’ve had.