Booker's Bourbon Batch 2021-04 "Noe Strangers Batch"

Been a few years since I bough a Booker's and I missed the highly rated batch 1 from 2021. Settled for this bottle since it had some decent notes. Let's see how it drinks... Nose is caramel, cinnamon, and a hint of peanuts.... it's like going to a ball game.. buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Once upon a time you'd get a real treat with your Cracker Jacks. Maybe this pour will be one... First sip is pretty hot. There is definitely some heat with this one. I am going to change gears on this now though as the Cracker Jacks are out the window and now I feel like a Snickers bar. Peanuts, caramel, and we seem to have swapped out the cinnamon for some cocoa and chocolate notes. The heat definitely comes strong and really hugs you. As it fades away though I definitely get more of those roasted cocoa notes. Overall this is nice. The heat is probably going to push some away so it may be best with some ice or a few drops of water. Booker's for me so far has been solid, but the price point definitely plays against the bottle. Little Book is definitely the cream of the crop for this label, but this one is pretty nice. Not sure I'd recommend dropping $100 though with the other barrel proof options out there at lower points.

Nose- red apple, oozy caramel and roasted peanuts abound. Sweet red fruit is the ticket here. Palate- a much sweeter entry for a Booker's. Harken's back to Anni's Answer for me. I get Taffy apple, pure and simple. The palate really stays true to the nose. After sitting for awhile there is also a brown sugar sweetness that really sets this one off. Finish- sweet and rich is the best way to describe. It is a county fair of red fruit, caramel, and roasted peanuts. Gives up a bit of pecan pie at the end. Overall- This a sweeter Booker's and overall perhaps less complex. Harken's back to Anni's answer and Dot's batch- bottles anybody could sit around the table and not be intimidated by. Just great, down home bourbon. If an alien were to come to your house and say, "what's bourbon?" You give him a glass of this and he will thank you for it, rightfully understand, and perhaps leave in the saucer a bit side-wise! What surprised me is that this batch is a bit younger. It doesn't drink that way at all. I suspect that it has much older barrels also in the batch as the backbone is delicious. Needs no water whatsoever. Beam continues to put out a quality bottle most every time

I very much enjoy this batch as the bottle has worked down. Where this batch really shines is that even though it is such a high proof point it, drinks below what you would expect. Compare this to something like a 1792 full proof, which may not be 100% fair comparison, given that they do come in a different price points however, what you’re paying for in the bookers offering is greater depth, richness , And a offering that you can really sit down and sip and enjoy without the heat being the dominant note. On the pallet I get a lot of cherry and it has a very long finish that lingers on the tongue. The nose is your typical Bookers with that peanut note, but it does not overwhelm. One hint, I will give those of us that do enjoy bookers is to always save about 4 ounces of each bottle in a small sample bottle so that at some point in the future after you’ve gone through several bottles, you can do some blinds of several offerings. I’ve been doing this, and it’s really a great opportunity to revisit older bottles a few times more.

As soon as I opened this bottle I could smell the heat. After letting it sit in the glass a few minutes I got heavy brown sugar and lingering ethanol on the nose. On the palate neat you immediately get hit with some cinnamon spice, but it's surprisingly smooth. The brown sugar shines through as well as some cherry and faint nuttiness. Adding some ice changes everything. The ice opened up some vanilla and toned down the spice, personally I enjoyed that a lot better. The finish is fairly long from the spice and quite pleasant. I need to compare with 2021-3, but overall pretty good. Not sure it's worth the $90 price Jim Beam is asking though.

Omg. This is just glorious. So close to a perfect 5. (I reserve the right to round up later). This is that all natural peanut butter that has the oil on top and you have to mix it. But you don't mix all the way and that perfect peanut flavor just gloriously lays on your tongue. Then the perfect spice kicks in with warming cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Hints of chocolate round it our. The finish is long and deep. A moment of fleeting coffee. And the oily peanut notes just linger and make you smile.

Nose: Vanilla, nuts, cinnamon and apple are well balanced. You can tell on the nose this is a higher proof bourbon, but it’s not uncomfortable to smell. Palate: fair nuts and apples are what this reminds me of. As the bottle gets some air in it, the heat seems to take a back seat. Good mouth feel to it. Finish: Finish is long and seems to end on a nutty note. Overall it’s a great bourbon, it’s just over priced. If it was a 60 to 70 dollar bourbon, I’d give it a higher rating.