50 ml: Batch 124-X900: 76.00: Whiskybase. Ohanneson explains that the "Holy Grail" of bourbon "is produced from just a few barrels and released yearly in very small batches.". The warmth lingers pretty long but never overpowers and almost becomes something halfway between fizzy and buzzy as it fades, leaving you with a woody, bourbon vibe and a very late wet straw note. He aims to create a one-of-a-kind whiskey with the guide of his master distiller father, Fred Noe. Its Wild Turkey with no flaws. Whiskybase is founded in 2007 with the goal to create the biggest resource of whisky information in the world. Its just excellent in every respect. The barrels are pulled from various, undisclosed age ranges and vatted. Using someone else's notes / reviews to claim points. Boston batch is a reference to the first distilling site where Booker Noe workedin Boston, Kentuckybut it wouldnt be a surprise if it was also in reference to the finishs Boston cream filling finish. This whiskey is a collaboration between Heavens Door Master Blender Ryan Perry and Redbreasts legendary Master Blender Billy Leighton. This new expression was created by Bulleits Master Blender Eboni Major. Our number two pick for this year is an untraditional Bookers with a familiar Beam flavor. The rye comes in late with a mild pepperiness and a slight savory fruit vibe. That bourbon is then aged for two short years before its small batched and bottled at a very approachable 80 proof. Theres a balance of dark stewed fruits think holiday cake spices with dates, prunes, figs, and raisins next to this bright burst of bright red berries with a slight tartness and powdered sugar sweetness swimming in vanilla cream with mild hints of old leather, dark cacao powder, and toffee lurking in the background. You get a deep sense of buttery toffee on the nose that leads you down a rocky path through a cherry orchard as soft notes of vanilla, worn leather, and warm, spicy tobacco leaves gently settle in your senses. 3. This years 20-year drop helped solidify the excellence of this expression. Well done, Pigskin. The finish is spicy and sweet and fades gradually. Theres a sense of vanilla bean (pod, seeds, essence) up top with hints of spicy chewy tobacco, dry oak (almost pine), and a distant note of fresh corn husks. The high proof guarantees a harsh alcoholic bite on the palate right off the bat, so the brand recommends adding water to it or serving it on the rocks. Part of that may be due to just spending more time with this one. The whiskey is a blend of barrels that all lost a lot of juice to evaporation (or the angels). This is one of the contenders for the best pound for pound bourbon in the world (see below to find out if it won). The end is long and really holds onto the cherry and raspberry fruit while a note of that soft cedar dips back in with a hint of menthol tobacco buzz. That then draws towards subtle pops of orange oils, floral honey, walnuts in buttery brown sugar syrup, and this mild touch of spiced apple tobacco leaf. Overall, this is a lighter bourbon by Texas standards and that helps it stand out amongst the crowd. After that release, pour this over a single rock or add a little water to really dive into the flavor notes. Between many of the Buffalo Trace products, Heaven Hill releases, and a multitude of craft distillers, one can easily find a barrel proof bourbon to try. Advertisement. The nose on this is brilliantly fruity with touches of fresh raspberries, strawberries resting in dry straw, candied cherries, freshly peeled mandarins, apple cores and stems, and a touch of caramel malts. These older age statement bourbons were a tee-up to Blue Run releasing their own-make whiskeys going forward. The bottle was released to celebrate the brand-new visitors center at Heaven Hill and is largely only available there. Its almost refreshing while still delivering on some deeply built Jack flavors. The through-line is the excellent taste of that single, unadulterated barrel in each sip. The juice is another classic that hits a little higher price point but pours really well, especially if youre looking for a craft Kentucky bourbon gift this year. While the six-year is a great cocktail bourbon and the 12-year is a fine sipper, this Tennessee whiskey is comforting neat, blooms nicely with a little water or on a rock, and will make one hell of a Manhattan. Either way, the juice goes through Michters bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentuckys iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof. This whiskey ups the Eagle Rare game up in two ways. Some people, some loyal fans, they like to go back and compare one to another.. Bulleit's high-proof version of its flagship high-rye bourbon was conceived as a chance to taste one of the most beloved moonshines in the country straight from the cask. You get a quick upfront hit of the sugars from the wood, along with hints of vanilla and raisin. The finish is soft and fast with that spice leading back towards a leather tobacco chew. So this is a small batch in theory and name more than practice. Eventually the popularity of these bottles caught on and Beam started to bottle in mass. But this new release just hit too many high marks to be overshadowed this year. Booker's Bourbon first came to be when Booker would hand select barrels to give as holiday gifts for friends. The reproduction and publishing (of parts of) the content of this website for non personal and/or commercial use, in whatever form, or in whatever way, is prohibited without the prior written consent of Whiskybase B.V.. Create an account and indulge yourself in the world of whisky. Creating duplicate accounts (split personality is not a good reason.). The mid-palate takes a turn away from all of that and dives into a candied cherry thats dusted with dark chocolate and a ground-up fruit Neco Wafer or Flintstones multivitamin (thats also cherry-flavored) before the finish gets this browned butter vibe with a touch of soft, sweet oak. Paul Sutton is a new bourbon from an old family recipe. Apple pie meets bourbon barrel spice. (You can unsubscribe anytime). Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon. Aged 6 years, 10 months and 10 days, "Pinkie's Batch" exemplifies Booker's signature vanilla notes, adding touches of cinnamon, clove and toasted peanuts to the bourbon. The nose on this has a distinct barnyard funk tied to wet bales of straw that leads to a salted caramel sweetness with a twinge of a pine box full of cherry pits. Stephen Beam is doing some amazing work out of a tiny distillery in rural Kentucky. Whiskybase B.V. is under no circumstances liable for damages of whatever nature, in anyway resulting from the use of this website or resulting from or related to the use of information presented on or made available through this website or damages resulting from the non-availability of this website. Our ranking didnt have much to do with high floor placement; 29 percent of Pigskin came from the sixth floor, 34 percent of Grannys came from the sixth floor, and just 27 percent of Boston came from the sixth floor. We try to make them a little different if possible, because, if you dont its just the same thing. This is soft on the nose with a hint of vanilla next to new leather, cornmeal, and a touch of orchard fruit. Some bourbons get bottled up uncut. Buffalo Trace brings a lot of entrants to the table for barrel proof offerings, and this seasonal release is the best of their "reasonably attainable" labels if a bourbon hunter is willing to put forth some effort. The whiskey is aged for at least ten years. On first whiff, I got a strong upfront alcohol burn, which is common for barrel proof bourbons. This limited release from a couple of months ago is a blend of heavy-hitting bourbons. The original barrel proof bourbon stands up to the test of time. Thats a shame because this is a hell of a sipper and more folks should be able to get their hands on this one. 2021 Top 100 Bourbon List: Wikiliq.org December 29, 2021 20,187 Views By The Bourbon Flight As the year comes to an end, the list of best bourbons of 2021 continues to pour in. The mid-palate leans into that sweet dried fruit/peppery edge as the pecans return in a bowl of Caro syrup and dusted with nutmeg-heavy eggnog spices and a final flourish of that wet yet fruity wood. The taste leans into that oak barrel with dashes of woody spices (think allspice berries, star anise, and cinnamon sticks), dry cherry tobacco leaves, salted caramel, and more of that super soft leather. Booker's delivered a long light lingering finish. That makes each release extremely unique and fleeting. The whiskey is around five to six years old and comes from one barrel that lets the grains shine through before it goes into another barrel that lets the oak shine through. I struggled with which Garrison Brothers was going on this list. Pappy Van Winkle 25 Decanter. The palate goes full crme brle with sticky burnt sugar over the top and a slight touch of allspice and nutmeg next to a dark cacao powder dryness with a touch of smoke salt and light, dry cedar. Jimmy Russell hand selects eight to nine-year-old barrels from his warehouses for their individual taste and quality. Warehouse H is one of Beams nine story warehouses. This draws you in with maple syrup, apple tobacco, resinous pine, and a touch of unpopped popcorn kernels. Booker's bourbon is one of the small batch bourbons produced by the Jim Beam distillery, which is owned by Beam Suntory (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan).Having the highest alcohol content of the brands in the Jim Beam "Small Batch Bourbon Collection", it is a cask strength bourbon. 62.2% ABV (124.4 Proof).Limited quantity at a suggested retail price of $89.99. This thirst quencher was sourced from 6 different rickhouses with an age statement of 7 years, 4 months, and 14 days. The nose is a classic mix of bold vanilla, baking spice, oak, and fruity sweetness. This year the most used warehouse actually came down to a tie. It's also significantly cheaper. Jack Daniel's Old No. Its one of those bourbons that I wish more people knew about and had a chance to try. The whiskey is overseen by seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe (Jim Beam's grandson). Old Foresters Master Taster Jackie Zykan released this new line from the iconic brand last spring. These are the best 50 sips of bourbon I tasted in 2021, no holding back! Booker's Small Batch Bourbon Review Region: Kentucky, USA Distiller: Jim Beam Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Cask: New Charred Oak ABV: 65.05% Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color Batch: C02-A-18 Price: $65 EYE Deep amber with orange accents NOSE This is a great classic bourbon nose. But once the spirit comes off the stills ,its filtered through charcoal, just like Tennessee whiskey, before its filled into the barrels. Though its very likely this is a low-rye bourbon mash. Thats great. This is Makers Mark classic wheated bourbon thats bottled at a higher proof to bring about a richer flavor. Well, thats what the label says anyway. Instead, I found myself going back for more and more sips just to capture some additional flavor. 9. This list comes. Those barrels were then vatted and just proofed to 110 before bottling in half-bottles. The end leans into eggnog spices with a touch of bitter black tea, more leathery tobacco, and a whisper of fresh mint. The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2022, Ranked We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle. The end is very long and lingers in your senses, with a hot buzzing that subtly fades through all that sweetness. The end is long-ish and carries more of that vanilla cream while that cinnamon becomes slightly chewy with a dried choco-mint tobacco buzz on the tip of the tongue. The information on this website is composed and maintained with continuous care and attention by Whiskybase B.V.. Its highly sippable and really blooms when you add a little water, so take your time enjoying this one. The end tends to be slow and velvety with the spice, fruit, oak, and vanilla all blending nicely until the very last. But this really took the bourbon from Washington up another notch with this finishing. The sweet taste was really nice and quite enjoyable. This years spring release is a marriage of eight-year-old whiskeys produced in the spring of 2013. Bookers was launched in 1988 as the first mass produced bourbon bottled straight from the barrel, uncut and unfiltered. Therefore, they are often times compared head-to-head. Therefore no rights can be derived from the information on this website. BourbonEX.com is the leading provider of information and historical pricing of sales of rare bourbon and whiskey (whisky) bottles in the European and USA secondary market. Salted peanut shells lead towards soft cedar next to a dose of vanilla and Christmas spices on the nose. A slight black tea bitterness takes over on the end as the nuttiness, spiciness, and sweetness all come together for a big finish with plenty of warmth and boldness. 50 ml: Booker's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 126.8 Proof: 63.4 % Vol. The tasting for VinePair's 2023 edition of our annual bourbon roundup offered great insight into how broad and deep the category has become. Whiskybase B.V.Zwaanshals 5303035 KS RotterdamThe NetherlandsKVK: 60207205VAT: NL853809112B01. Stellum Bourbon is the new kid on the block. This then morphed into the taste of aged wood and light leather. The nose on these tends to be soft, kind of like freshly baked rye bread, with notes of eggnog spices, slick vanilla flan, thin caramel sauce, and hints of spicy orange zest. The juice in this bottle is a blend of five bourbons of varying ages between five and nine years old made with Heaven Hills classic mash bill of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and ten percent rye. Compared to other mid-aged Beam bourbons, a perfect batch of Booker's is an entirely different animal. The finish is long, effervescent, and leaves you with this soft sense of having just eaten the best oatmeal raisin cookie of your life with just the right amounts of oats, spice, raisins, brown sugar, and crumble. Theres a real throughline of sunny berry brambles (blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry) next to orange oils and a touch of oakiness on the nose. These references and hyperlinks are included for information purposes only and are selected by Whiskybase B.V. in good faith. That dry pepper holds as a light dry herbal note lingers on the senses. E. H. Taylor Barrel Proof. While others rejoiced to drink bourbon at age 21, Booker was thrilled to start making the stuff. The palate is pecan-loaded waffles smothered in butter and syrup with vanilla ice cream, light brown spiciness, and maple-infused sweet tobacco on the end. This whiskey marries four of those recipes with two from Mash B (very high rye) and two from Mash Bill E (high rye). Id also argue that this is one of those Ah-Ha! bourbons thatll advance your palate and understanding of the seriously good stuff.. Willett Bonili 24/94. Batch # 2021-04. Ranking batches of Bookers is, to a certain extent, a ridiculous exercise. Clocking in at 128.5 proof, Booker's allows you to experiment at home by adding as much or as little water as you want until you get to a profile thats just right for you. Booker's Bourbon 2021-04 "Noe Strangers Batch" The fourth and final 2021 release from Booker's, this iteration was aged for 6 years, 6 months, and 12 days, and arrives at a dizzying 62.2 . . Its a great, bold whiskey that truly shines when mixed. Those barrels were married and then bottles as-is with no proofing or filtration. The juice is rendered with grains from Texas and water from the ground beneath their feet, all imbued with a crafty Texas vibe in every sip. Beam Distilling Co. released the final installment of the 2022 Booker's Bourbon Collection, Booker's Batch 2022-04, "Pinkie's Batch.". Booker's 23 reviews Wine Spectator-Kentucky, USA- Cinnamon, hot and dusty corn, short snort of vanilla. The rye is a 100 percent malted rye thats three years old. Thats batched with 16 percent from a 17-year-old Tennessee whiskey thats made with 84 percent corn, eight percent rye, and eight percent malted barley. . Those barrels are blended and then proofed down with soft Tennessee water. The juice in the bottle is Heaven Doors low-rye ten-year-old Tennessee bourbon. The end softens the leather as the dark chocolate lingers the longest on your senses with a final touch of almost peppery spice. The mid-palate leans back into the dark stone fruit and sweetness as it only slightly dries out. 2. The expression is a marrying of 200 barrels of bourbon from Heaven Hills warehouses. That being said, Booker's has been able to consistently deliver a quality product year after year. To say this is smooth would be an understatement. Grannys Batch recalls a woman famous for her highballs and nut cakes at Christmas time. While not necessarily inexpensive, Booker's does a nice job of delivering value to the consumer. The new release is named after the fact that. This might be the perfect old fashioned bourbon. Appearance: Burnished copper. The palate takes the apricot and stews it with the spices to create a jammy compote next to an earthy and wet cellar beam dripping with cobwebs as the hibiscus brightens and leads towards a hint of raisin, prune, and white pepper. The fruitiness really builds as the cherry leads towards a bowl full of ripe raspberries swimming in cream with a dusting of dark spices and brown sugar thats countered by a dose of floral tea leaves, culminating with a mildly bitter coffee bean. Imagine dark and sweet cherries smothered in rummy molasses with a touch of dried roses, nuts, and cedar all leading towards the soft almost wet tobacco leaf. Booker's Bourbon is a series of bourbons started by sixth-generation Beam master distiller Booker Noe, who died in 2004. The nose is full of very bespoke dark chocolate-covered salted hard caramel toffees encrusted with almonds and pecans the kind you get from a chocolate shop that imports their goodies from somewhere like Belgium. Buffalo Trace. The original barrel proof bourbon has been incredibly consistent over the years. Some of these bourbons will be easily found at stores, others only surface in Kentucky or their local regions, and some are probably already buried deep in the vaults of collectors. Expect to pay . The spirit is aged for four years before theyre bottled individually without cutting or filtration. This is delightful and one of the most unique expressions on this list. Taking responsibility for your own actions. The whiskey is distilled and has the highest alcohol content of all other brands in the Jim Beam "Small Batch Bourbon Collection.". 125-128 Proof Semi-Limited Clermont, KY. By law, bourbon must go in the barrel no higher than 125 proof and be bottled no lower than 80 proof. Booker's bourbon is one of the few bourbon brands left bottled straight from the barrel. Beyond that, this was a Travelers Exclusive up until the pandemic. A lot of Peerless drops could be right here. Youre greeted with a real sense of a corn-syrup-laced pecan pie next to hazelnut bespeckled cinnamon rolls and creamy milk chocolate. This isnt a bourbon to be taken lightly. For such a high proof, I was very surprised at how nice the mouthfeel was on this. A touch of candied ginger spices things up as a fruity but dry tobacco leaf rounds out the end with the faintest touch of walnut shells. In fact, the rest of this list is the same. Its beloved for a reason and this years BTAC release was a great reminder of the brands prowess among the greats of bourbon. 3. Jim Beam's Booker's Bourbon brand has been a semi-frequent target of whiskey geek grumbling for a few years now, owing to the fact that its price point has provided a real time reflection. The taste veers away from that with deeply stewed apples that are almost a warm apple sauce with cinnamon, clove, and allspice kicking up some heat as minor notes of marzipan, cornmeal, and cacao lurk far in the background. After 15 months of final maturation, those barrels are vatted and slightly proofed down with soft Tennessee spring water. That orange and dark chocolate drive the taste as the dark cherry becomes brandy-soaked and the cedar feels more like an old cigar humidor full of cigars laced with vanilla, orange, cherry, and chocolate individually, creating a bigger whole on the palate. The mid-palate hits on a bit of dark spice, vanilla tobacco, and dark cacao bitterness. Behind it lingers the smell of oak, light floral notes, and a solid nutty scent. The palate edges away from the spice towards a powdered sugar sweetness with a hint of dry vanilla. This small batch of wheated bourbon is derived from barrels between six and eight years old. Booker's Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey. This final release of 2021 from Pursuit United put 9,342 bottles on the market in six states (Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky). These conditions apply to the use of this website of Whiskybase.com. Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of 2021. George T. Stagg Producer: Buffalo Trace Proof: Barrel Proof MSRP: $80 Why it's better: Simply put, George T. Stagg is the best bourbon currently being produced. The taste holds onto the honeyed sweetness with burnt sugars, light cedar, chocolate tobacco leaves, and a hint of orange oils. The bourbon is made from a blend of corn, rye, and barley, and is aged for a minimum of six years in oak barrels. Both Warehouse H and Warehouse L accounted for 64 percent of batch ingredients across all three batches. This whiskey was made by Master Distiller Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. In general, Booker's is a reliable, solid and sometimes even excellent barrel-proof bourbon that is worth spending 60 bucks on, and maybe even 80. Whats most interesting is that while Warehouse H is represented across all three batches, Grannys Batch is literally 50 percent Warehouse L, including floors four, five, and six. While maturing, 64 percent of the whiskey was lost to the angels before it was small-batched and bottled as is. The 50 Best Bourbon Whiskeys Of 2021, Ranked, GloRilla, Ice Spice, And The Carefree Black Girl Backlash, Karol G Tells Us About Her Most Personal Album Yet, Maana Ser Bonito, And Collaborating With Shakira, The Rundown: Between Cocaine Bears And Maple Syrup Heists, Margo Martindale Is Absolutely Thriving In 2023.