Booker's Bourbon Batch 2018-04 "Kitchen Table"

The nose is herbal with spices (notably black pepper) and a faint spearmint aroma as well as earth and some old chocolate and hints of wet cardboard and suggestions of rye tartness that also bring in some sweet fruitiness, nuttiness (almond and pecan) and slight buttery toffee hints. There's a lot in the nose eventually, but the quality is mixed. Without water, there is the expected warm burn and sweetness. It's comforting and fairly rich with some nice toffee and apple and cherry notes mixed with plenty of vanilla. It's clear that there is rye flavor, but it doesn't scream it's presence. That almond does come through in a subtle way that enhances the sweetness while adding a rounded oily richness. There are herbal flavors, but they are hard to place (though they aren't exceptionally bitter). Adding water, the rich, oily nuttiness stays with almond being a very present flavor and adding to the toffee richness. There's a lot of vanilla without a huge oak taste being there. There's a little bit of a rancid flavor, but it isn't out of hand. There are interesting herbal notes that bring in spikes of bitterness and some nice licorice when enough water is added, but the final impression here is one of rich oily nuttiness with sufficient sweetness and some fruits. Rye does show up, but it doesn't overpower. This is very tasty and highly sippable. It's in the 16-17 range for its hedonism. Compared with Blanton's, this tastes less sweet and fruity. Actually, Blanton's tastes like an Armagnac or maybe even a Cognac in comparison. Blanton's tastes relatively weak due to its lower ABV, but its richness and age do start to show, letting it make the case for its quality. The smokiness in Blanton's gives it a mature character, but doesn't balance as well as Booker's does. It's hard to drink Blanton's after Booker's. The almond is the star here and it adds a nice toasted barrel element, bit it avoids the harsh alcohol and banana hint of Woodford Reserve Double Oak. This is kind of somewhere between Stagg Jr. and Wild Turkey Jewbillee in terms of flavor profile. It's fairly spicy with a substantial woody barrel flavor to it and plenty of vanilla, but there's also some really nice sweet red fruit with a cherry emphasis that doesn't overwhelm. The caramel seems a bit on the light side and the wood is a bit strong (though not young, to be clear), but it's still quite good. It's a close contender with Stagg Jr. and Wild Turkey Jewbillee, but it might ultimately show a tad more immaturity. The finish is a bit on the bitterly herbal, fresh wood side.

Review originally posted on Barreled in January 2019. Beam/Suntory releases four batches of Bookers throughout the year. This is a review of Bookers batch 2018-4, “Kitchen Table”. This bottle is 64% ABV and was in the barrel for six years, eight months, and seven days. I tasted this whiskey at full strength, and watered down to approx. 100 proof and 85 proof. The 100 proof version was my favorite. Bookers is a dark amber/mahogany in the glass. Right out of the bottle I was amazed that the nose didn’t burn up my sinuses! Full strength the nose has dusty, musty oak and cocoa. Light vanilla sweetness, but much less than most bourbons. After some time in the glass, cloves and cinnamon. Watered down to 100 proof there is more caramel/vanilla; more like a standard bourbon. At 85 proof I got cherries; first bourbon I’ve had where I really got cherries. The full strength palate has buttery caramel and toffee. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Thick viscous mouthfeel. Lots of heat, but what did you expect? At 100 proof there was not much change, just a more manageable/pleasant heat level. At 85 proof the cherries from the nose came through on the palate. The full strength finish was long, with dusty oak, leather. Strange aftertaste, can’t quite put my finger on it. Green oak? Something green and musty. The finish at 100 and 85 proof was about the same: a little shorter, still some of the “green oak” but not as strong. This is a very good, bordering excellent bourbon. At 128 proof in the bottle you actually have the opportunity to dilute the whiskey to your taste, and even stretch a 750 ml bottle further than normal if you would like. This is definitely more complex than the basic caramel/vanilla bourbon. There’s not much variation on price for this bottle: $70 is what I paid and it’s rare to see it even a few dollars less. At that price it hits the “special occasion” category for me, but still something I would enjoy sharing with friends and family. Solid 4/5.

Booker's Kitchen Table. Bottled in 2018; this is the fourth and final batch of the year. Aged 6 years, 8 months, 7 days. Bottled at a whopping 64% ABV. If you've read one of my previous Booker's reviews, you'd know I'm a huge fan. Let's see where this ranks among the better batches. Nose: Gala apple, toffee, brown sugar, caramel, cocoa. Peanut brittle and peanut butter. New car leather shines through. Some barrel char and some baking spices: Cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Big oak. In the background, there are some sweet notes of peach and carrot cake. Orange peel and apricot. Ginger, rosemary, allspice, and something akin to sun-dried tomato. Deeply complex but far from overpowering. Palate: Caramel, cocoa, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, vanilla, butterscotch, and graham cracker. Huge peanut/peanut butter note. Very oaky and maybe even a bit of grass or hay. The barrel char makes this drink like a crispy, charred steak, if that makes any sense. The carrot cake is still there, but now more subtle. Peach as well. Black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove add spice on the back end. Finish: Spice and oak bomb. Nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon persist from nose to finish. Apricot and orange peel. More peanut/peanut butter. Caramel, cocoa, vanilla, and brown sugar. More spice resurfaces as the long finish finally dissipates. Another winner. It might not be the first or second best batch of Booker's I've had, but it's less than a step behind. And it's probably got the best nose of any I've had. It's tied for best if not the outright best. It's a beast of a whiskey, like any other Booker's batch. But it's extremely balanced and very unique, even in this line of titans. It's unfortunate the Booker's has jumped from $55 to $90 in the past 3 years. Still, with a product like this, I'm fully prepared to keep shelling out my hard-earned cash for these releases. 5/5.

Always high proof always good whiskey always Jim Beam profile lol. There are so many good releases of Bookers each and every year. This one the nose has the apple, vanilla and peanut distillery profile. Second wave is caramel cream, cinnamon, sweet and oak and due to proof some ethyl alcohol. If you are not used to high proof whiskeys this one will taste hot but if you are used to it there isn't much alcohol burn on the palate. The salted peanuts really hits first followed by the cooked apple flavors (apple, sweet syrup, cinnamon and touch of nutmeg), then the vanilla, caramel and oak all fall in line. Finish is medium long with almost all the palate carrying over except the salty peanuts the finish is where the alcohol comes back on the throat and the Kentucky hug warmth in the chest and some rye spice on the sides of the mouth are more noticeable. $78 bucks is not bad this whiskey gives you bang for your buck if you like high proof if you don't it still gives good bang as you don't need as much when you proof it down with water. However some are saying that Booker's is price hiking again to $90-100 and that's not worth it as these are not LE's and are pretty readily available and it's not like there's a huge secondary.

Elected the best of the day on a Bourbon tasting alongside Stagg Jr, JD Sinatra, Angel’s Envy and Eagle Rare. On the glass, a beautiful russet color and some really slow legs after swirling the glass. On the nose, just a bit of alcohol burn (we’re talking 64% abv afterall), some nuttiness, some citrus, ginger spice and an old oak note, like the smell you get inside a dunnage house. On the palate it is full bodied with a really CREAMY mouthfeel. It isn’t harsh by any means (where has all the alcohol gone?) and yet another time you have citrus, oak and some spice. Have I already said how creamy this is? 😁 On the finish you get some heat from the high abv, pepperiness and some old leather note. You can add water to this one but I think it is best neat. You don’t get much alcohol burn and you get the most incredible mouthfeel that is somehow lost after some dilution. Not as good as Batch 2015-03 (Center Cut) but a great bourbon anyhow.

I had a unique opportunity to try 2018-03 alongside the 04 batch. I ordered a 2 oz pour, and the bar just finished the last ounce of 03 and poured a measure of 04 in a separate glencairn. It might be purely the power of suggestion but I feel like I can taste the additional months in the barrel. In spite of the 04 bottle being newly cracked, it is mellower and sweeter, rounded and richer than the younger, peppery 03. N: Maple syrup and buttered toast, licorice, peanut butter, vanilla, roasted nuts. P: Pecan pie, ice cream, anise, raisins, Graham crackers. F: long, sweet, tannic barrel notes, molasses.