Booker's Bourbon Batch 2021-03 "Bardstown Batch"

About a year ago, I walked into a restaurant that was shutting down at the end of the day. There was indication this was happening from the outside, but the bartender made it pretty clear that there was essentially a fire sale behind the bar. This was my first pick. There wasn’t much left so I got the second pour free as it finished the bottle. What a great choice. And the rest was history. I knew I needed a bottle if I was lucky enough to find one in 2023. And here we are. Nose: Classic Beam peanut brittle. Brown sugar, cocoa, and caramel. Raisin and dried apricot. Plum skin and cola. Toffee, vanilla, and butterscotch. Very citrusy and has almost a seltzer pop. Like a Sprite. A tad bit of steak. Mint. Black pepper and pipe smoke. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: More peanut brittle. Steak as well. Roasted almond. Caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and toffee. Chocolate syrup. Cocoa, pipe smoke, and peppercorn. Orange citrus. Rye spice. Ginger. Red hot tamale. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Finish: Peanut brittle. Brown sugar, caramel, toffee, vanilla. Pumpkin spice. Ginger. Cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. This was as good as I remember. Maybe the best nose I’ve ever gotten on a bourbon. It’s certainly up there. It’s a unique profile for a Booker’s overall—it reminds me of some of the batches from 8-9 years ago that got me into the brand. For $100, I was quite glad to find this so late in the game. It’s not the oldest or the highest proof Booker’s batch, but is easily one of the most remarkable. I’m always impressed with this stuff. 5/5.

Coming off the heels of my first Booker's the 2020-02 "Boston's Batch," coupled with the recent priced increase of Booker's, I was hesitant to purchase another batch but finally gave in after continuously hearing good things about Bardstown Batch along with the other 2021 releases. Nose: Sweet and oaky. A balance between caramel sugars and bold, dry oak. Behind the note, which can even be found without knowing this is a Booker's, is that peanut note, which in the 2020-02 was astringent, but here plays nicely with the sweetness to almost be folded into a peanut butter or peanut brittle. Palate: Thick and rich mouthfeel. A ton of maple syrupy sweetness that coats the palate first leaving behind a trail of oak and spice. This drinks surprisingly lower than it's proof point which is the opposite from the Boston Batch, but seems to be the consensus of the tastes I've read on it. Finish: Long finish. The sweetness settles nicely into the middle of a tingly drying oak blanket and the two notes dance around the palate as it fades. Overall the Bardstown Batch feels like a simpler whiskey as far as complexity goes but really delivers a ton of flavor and drinks older than its age statement at around 6 and a half years, and lower than it's proof at 62.75% ABV. Really glad to have picked up this bottle to have experienced a great Booker's batch. Hard to justify spending $100 on it though. Rating (t8ke scale) - 8

It's been really hot here for the last few days and I have switched to lighter spirits and beer. But Frank comes over with a bottle of Booker's. Bookers on a hot day can be a dangerous combination so maybe a quarter ounce. Can't turn down a taste of Bookers!! Wow! Bottle is off the shoulder and been open for a couple weeks. The nose is powerful. Caramel apple pie right off and I am only getting close to the glass. There's cinnamon, nutmeg and butter too. Very little alcohol on the nose. It amazes me that 125+ proof and just over six years can tame the alcohol so well. The palate is flavorful as well but much more of simple basic bourbon. That's OK cause the nose makes up for it. Great mouth feel at least until the tip of my tongue and lips go numb. Roof of mouth too! There's a nice long finish of cinnamon apple red hot that goes and goes. I really like this one and find it to be fairly priced at 90. Not as hard to get as some either.

This is my first peek into the Booker's portfolio. Very nice presentation with the wooden box and inscriptions. I used to see these every now and then at my locals, but passed on them for some reason. I'm lucky to have been given this as a gift from the wife for Xmas. I was quite impressed overall. The nose was fairly complex and inviting. It reminded me of an apple turnover dusted with cinnamon. My palate first experienced what can be perceived as red hots from the elevated baking spice character and the uncut proof. When that subsided, notes of charred oak, grilled corn, and subtle leather emerged. The finish was slightly oily and long lasting which was a plus. Sweetness factor was at a minimum too. I very much enjoyed this dram overall and look forward to grabbing a future batch.

This SOB is pungent would be the best way to describe the taste , I enjoy barrel proof or uncut so I’m no rookie to high proof and as far as I’m concerned if you need to put ice in your Bourbon you might as well put a nipple on the bottle ya big baby . Anyways this is my second go around with Booker’s , the bottle is super cool but the price is super lame $99 for a 6.5 year Bourbon that unfortunately just isn’t that interesting this one in particular I’ve had it open for 2 weeks and it’s just boring and Pungent as of now I’m done with Booker’s it’s just lame $99 bucks and it’s just not that good it’s fair a straight C but there’s way way more better out there for that price point.

First off, surprise, as the nose is not as hot as I expected. Notes include pecans, cinnamon, cherry, charred oak, soft pine, white pepper, toast, orange, baking spices, celery, caramel and a touch of umami. Hotter on the palate, leather, oak, Red Hots, cocoa, brine, pepper, caramel and a hint of orange. I’m glad I bought this. I’m getting some funkiness from it, though it’s very obviously a barrel strength bourbon. A little water doesn’t really open anything else up, it just mellows things out. Interesting stuff.