Booker's Bourbon Batch 2016-05 "Off Your Rocker"

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 16 My kids have this movie they love where Lego Brainiac tries to shrink the planet Earth in order to complete his alphabetized collection of planets. Ultimately, the Lego Justice League is able to save the world by refocusing his compulsive collecting disorder toward collecting coins. But what happens when he finishes his collection? Lego Batman points out that this is impossible, since new coins are minted every year. Effectively, Lego Batman found a way to eternally imprison Lego Brainiac into a compulsive collecting habit which, to Lego Brainiac, may have seemed like a good idea at first, but over time his efforts would indubitably feel fruitless and his ever-expanding collection devoid of any kind of meaningful satisfaction. Anyway, tonight I’m popping open Booker’s 2016-05, “Off Your Rocker.” 64.85%! Nose is good, but not special. There’s caramel, and it’s super astringent (which makes sense). I’d say lemon too, in the sour/bitter form. After sipping for a while, I go back and can get a nutty scent too. Body: wow that’s hot. Hadn’t had a Booker’s in a while and you forget. I get brown sugar, and tons of milk chocolate. Very sweet, very tasty. I like this a lot. On the finish I get sugared pecans. This is one of the most delicious finishes I can remember. Appropriate tongue buzz, relatively short overall. With ice: this tones down the bite a ton. Per usual, you barter some complexity for accessibility. This one fares better than most though, and I wouldn’t hesitate to alternate this bottle between neat and rocks pours. This is in the running for my favorite Booker’s to date. I’ve only tasted 5 or so, but I have a feeling that number will be going up a lot in the near future. Lego Brainiac has raised the white flag. ‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 15 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

Rating: 20/23 N: Much lighter than I'd expected. Lots of minerality and peppermint mixed with stark tannins. Hints of conrmbread and vanilla, but they're barely present. This nose is unfortunately pretty vacant, with largely unappealing scents filling it. P: This is a lot better than the nose. It doesn't quite have the big boldness that Booker's often does, but there's this vanilla, cornbread sweetness with a faint butteriness that carries throughout. Peppermint comes in and there's a constant spicy bite. I'm getting big mint julep vibes from this and that really isn't a bad thing. There's almost a bit of yeastiness here too. A bigger sip showcases more of a white bread sweetness with a bit of herbaceousness and spices. It's nice, but lacks some of those flavors that I liked in the smaller sips. I get hints of licorice in here as well, which is very typical of Beam and is neither good nor bad in this context. F: Much drier than the palate, with those big, astringent tannins finally coming out. I get some lingering vanilla and butter, with faint cornbread sweetness. Definitely licorice and mint. Kind of off-kilter overall here, but not bad. - Conclusion - I think I might get why this was titled "Off Your Rocker". There's a lot of weird flavors hitting at different angles and plenty of worrying moments, but it somehow comes together and is quite enjoyable. Though maybe I'm just expressing that a very nice palate saves this from the mildly troubled finish and complete mess of a nose. This clearly beats Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (18-19/23) and my bottle of Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (18/23). I'm thinking a 20. I could maybe be convinced of a 21, but I don't think so. A 19 strikes me as more likely than a 21, but it's not like either is out of the picture at all. Coming back to this, I was able to put it up against my bottle of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23) and this won. I'm going with a solid 20 here. A big thanks to @Milliardo for sharing this dram!

As a huge fan of Booker's bourbon I love the Small Batch Series, and "Off Your Rocker" (2016-05) is one of best I've tasted. 4.5 stars out of 5. Nose: Smoky Oak, Vanilla, Butterscotch, Mint, Cherry Cola, Coconut, Herbal note. Palate: Oak, Butterscotch, Mint, Vanilla, Dark Fruit, Roasted Nuts, Cinnamon, Tobacco. Finish: Oak, Vanilla, Mint, Cinnamon. "Off Your Rocker" (2016-05) has a beautiful nose that gets better and more complex with more time in the glass. I get a lot of oak right from the start, along with butterscotch, mint, cherry cola, coconut and a faint herbal note. After about 25-30 minutes in the glass the smokiness of the oak really starts to blossom, mixing beautifully with the mint, while the coconut has completely faded away. On the palate there is a lot of oak (mildly smoky) with some butterscotch and roasted nuts, followed by a flood of heat containing flavors of mint and cinnamon and a slight herbal note. Vanilla, dark fruit and tobacco emerge as the heat dissipates. The finish is long and warm with more smoky oak, vanilla, mint and cinnamon. While "Off Your Rocker" can be enjoyed neat, I find that a little water really brings out the best this bourbon has to offer.

Oak on nose with some vanilla and caramel. The proof shows with a firm, friendly handshake. Taste has rich, full caramel, apple and well balanced oak that sticks through on the finish. This shit is delicious! Enjoy it more than the “Sip Awhile” version; which is delicious as well. This has less black pepper flavor for sure. Booker’s is probably always solid. I’ve only tried two so far but I see more in my future. 4.98 ⭐️ / Saratoga Wine / $70

Since my bottle of this is long gone this is a memory review. This was one of the most, if not THE most, delicious & satisfying bourbons I’ve ever had. It bowled me over at the time & I’ve been chasing something equally as good ever since. I recall it being rich, lush, moderately sweet & spicy. So well-balanced & so wonderfully good. #DAD

N: Sweet vanilla and brown sugar. Pop of baking spices with some bread tones. P: Oily with a sweet pop of vanilla. Moves to an awesome cocoa flavor before moving to more of a black pepper spice before hitting the finish. F: Peppery and sweet. Long lasting. Lingering peanut flavor, but it's Beam, so it's expected.