Stunning rye. One of my all time favorites. First time I've ever agreed with the critics on "whiskey of the year" as well. Tried this for the first time at a bar down in Texas before the hype hit. Was stunned by it--and had the chance to share it with a friend who had never tasted a rye before... it is just incredible whiskey. Goes down like it's half it's proof.... however, it does need a while to open up. Second time I had it was from a freshly opened bottle, and it wasn't nearly as good. Opens up well and needs a few weeks/months of being open to fully reach it's potential. This compares favorably to others of the all-time great ryes I've tried--the Saz 18, Thomas Handy 2013, Willett special releases like Iron Fist and Velvet Glove, old High West 21 year bottles, etc. It deserves to be in the same company, and that's the highest praise I can give it. There are other, better cask strength ryes out there--but none I know of that can be bought for any remotely reasonable sum of money. And I know that Booker's rye, at a secondary of $800, is similarly crazy. But at the ~$300 retail, it's worth it, and a far cry better than most other special release ryes of the past few years.
Booker's Rye Whiskey Big Time Batch (2016 Release)
About this bottle
Laid down by the man Booker Noe himself in 2003, this is a rare rye whiskey from the Booker's label distilled at the Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. Booker Noe was the Master Distiller at Beam from 1960 to 1992, when he handed off the reigns to his son, Fred Noe. This rye was part of a small batch experiment of about one hundred casks that Booker stowed away in his favorite rack houses, D & E, both of which see sun-exposure throughout the day. These are some of the last casks filled by Booker before his death in 2004. "Big Time Batch" is uncut and unfiltered at an irascible 68.1% ABV and aged for precisely 13 years, 1 month and 12 days.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 47 parsed reviews.
A friend of mine acquired this bottle from a colleague who simply had no idea what it was, fortunately it wound up in the hands of some "professionals" that could appreciate it! Luckily I was able to get 3 full shots as the owner was not being too stingy. From the top it was apparent there is nothing "usual" about this bottle, the richness in spices on the nose, the heat all the way down and smooth follow through, all are unique in this from the shear potency to the incredibly smooth finish packed into the 136 proof juice. Bookers Rye is a clear example of why you can't hurry perfection, and what proper aging means to the finished product. Anyone who is a Bookers fan, a rye fan or both is going to be able to appreciate this incredible treat to some degree. The Bookers label with green print makes in abundantly clear you aren't looking at normal Bookers so when you see this bottle do not hesitate, as they are becoming more scarce by the day.
Nose- Gingerbread; cocoa powder; brown sugar; citrus; cinnamon bark; rye spices Palate- Drying oak initially; rye spice; molasses; caramel; citrus; dark chocolate; red licorice; dark fruits Finish- Long, drying and mouth tingling finish; dark chocolate; rye spice; aged oak; brown sugar Booker’s Rye, oh booker’s rye. The hype around this is astounding (like $1600 astounding), and truth be told, i’ve had better. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very very good. The highlight for me is the nose, with wonderful gingerbread, rye spice, and brown sugar rounding it out. The palate drinks way below 138 proof, but still lets you know it’s big and bold. The finish is, of course, as long as it gets, with dark chocolate, aged oak, and more brown sugar. Happy I got to try this, and it’s in a very cool bottle, but it’s wayyy overpriced.
As a lover of ryes and a lover of good ryes and a lover of good high proof ryes. This one checked all the damn boxes. Nose: amazing nose. Barrel spices, Carmel, vanilla and some oak. Palate: it’s so complex I can’t do it justice. You need a real pro for this one. It’s spicy with subtle sweet and note of oak. It’s outrageously grand. Finish: long long Kentucky hug. Sits in the middle of your chest and lingers. Coats the tongue. A friend and I went to front street in Wilmington NC. That bourbon bar is unbelievable. We had this there and I was sad when I was down to my last sip lol.
Very good. Packs some heat and tropical fruit. Nose: Apples, Pepper, Maple, Cinnamon, Caramel, Cherries, Dark Chocolate, Spearmint, Vanilla, Grass, Dill, Cotton Candy, Oranges, Pineapples, Marshallows, Peanut Butter Palate: Caramel, Grass, Spearmint, Vanilla, Cherries, Oranges, Cloves, Dried Fruit, Mangoes, Maple Syrup, Pineapples, Passion Fruit, Peanut Butter Finish: Caramel, Cloves, Vanilla, Mangoes, Dark Chocolate, Pepper, Papayas, Vanilla, Pineapples, Passion Fruit, Oranges
Nose: Oranges, saltine crackers, light Carmel Palette: OAK, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, brown sugar Finish - looooong dry oak spice and cedar. This “rye” delivers the highly sought after tannic oak bomb flavor that lingers; It’s nice and all but IMO it doesn’t quite hold up to the aura and ultra inflated 2nd market price- ...but, what really does?
41 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
