Booker's Bourbon Batch 2022-03 "Kentucky Tea Batch"

This review prompted me to go back and look for my review of the Lumberyard Batch from the same year as this one. Turns out I never uploaded it-from all the way back in December of 2024. At the time, I noted my disappointment in mot being able to find another 2022 bottling. Fast forward, and my problem has been solved. Lumberyard was sensational. Let’s see if this can measure up. Nose: Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Pipe smoke. Green tea. Ginger. Steak sauce. Sawdust, pipe smoke, and cocoa. It’s spice and wood forward, but there is some underlying sweet on the nose as well. Maple. Pecan pie. Apricot. Almond and walnut. Palate: Chewy caramel and milk chocolate. Vanilla and toffee. Banana walnut muffin. Almond and macadamia. Butterscotch. Baked apple pie. Perhaps it’s the power of suggestion, but I’m getting some sweet peach tea. Sawdust and oak. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Toffee, vanilla, and caramel. Heaps of black pepper and cinnamon. Steak sauce. Oak. Meaty, BBQ, barrel smoke are all evoked here. Sweet peach tea again. Red hot tamale. Long as they make them. This was awesome. Smoky and spicy with the grilled meat notes, with a layers of fruit/dessert sweetness rolling in behind. The tangy tea and ginger notes added some complexity here. Throw in the wood and nut notes and you’ve got a fairly unique Booker’s profile—yet, this simulataneously feels incredibly on brand for the Booker’s line. It’s safe to say 2022 was a good year for Booker’s. I will definitely be buying any more from this year on sight. I paid $125 for this one. A little high for Booker’s. I’m sure I could’ve gotten it cheaper when there were more on the shelves so I won’t judge to harshly. The value is there, at any rate. 5/5 for this one. Really glad I managed to scoop one up.

2022 bookers battle Bookers 22-03 A litttle heat vanilla winey nose Sweet, light plum fruit, vannila taste a tiny bit of peanut is there barely tickling the pallet and then follows through into the finish with a decent amount of spice at the end. 4.5/5 My bookers 22-04 Syrupy panc nose Sweet maple light cereal pallet, a little more nuttiness. Definitely has a more nutty aftertaste but less spicy. 4.75 22-04 wins tonight. It works more with my pallette and what I like in a beam product. I can definitely see why others would like the 22-03 better and maybe even I would on a different night. Not tonight. Cheers!

If you drink Booker's only for the peanuts, or you only like wheated bourbons, don't buy. But if you're any other kind of bourbon drinker, this is a must grab while it's still around. If you haven't really experienced cask strength and want to know if it really does have more flavor, this is a great bottle to try neat. At $99, it's a bit pricey, but it has a lot of versatility and can be proofed down with some water or ice to change the profile a bit and have some fun experimenting with your favorite ratio.

NOSE Currant-heavy juicy dark fruit, toffee, oak, vanilla cake, spice, and touches of leather and nutmeg. Rather soft with everything laying under a blanket of jammy dark fruit PALATE OAK, currant-heavy juicy dark fruit, burnt caramel, vanilla frosting, complex baking spice, and hints of leather, cocoa, herbal notes, and ash with a tannic hit. This is a HEAVILY oaked batch and adding a bit of water doesn’t break it up much. FINISH Long -> Oak, herbally spiced, cocoa fade to ashy dark fruit.

Has all the typical flavors and viscosity of a good Bookers. But I decided to pull a scotch trick out and added a couple drops of water to the glass. And wow! It takes a peanut nose and makes it more almond-y, but it ratchets all the flavors on the palate up about 3 notches. Absolutely top notch, this bottle. I’m beginning to wonder if the description of Kentucky Tea (water flavored with bourbon instead of tea leaves) on the card wasn’t a hint…

Surprising lack of legs in the glass. Beautiful nose has stewed appls, and spices of cardamon, coriander, and cream of tartar. The palate hits straight on. Hot spice and bitter. A little melted ice brings the peanut forward and the spice gets stronger but the dry bittetness persists. Finish brings leather, hay, and pepper.