Review by: Raygun

Booker’s needs little introduction. Once widely available for about $60, now closer to double that. This particular batch was drawn from barrels from five different warehouses and bottled at barrel strength. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 10 minutes.

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Distillery: Jim Beam

Bottler: Jim Beam

Region/style: Kentucky straight bourbon

ABV: 63.65%. Barrel strength

Age: 6 years, 7 months, 7 days. Bottled in 2020.

Cask type: New charred oak barrels

Price: About $130 in my area

Color: 1.4 tawny. Natural Color.

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Nose: Vanilla, root beer, and wood shop. Pretty conventional, but there’s a subtle nuttiness which brings something a little different.

Palate: Toffee and root beer, now joined by some spices. Nice amount of oak. Pecan pie. Very well balanced.

Finish: Vanilla, caramel, and more nuts: pecans and walnuts. Cream soda. Drinks very easily. Nice mouthfeel but not very hot at all.

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Conclusion:

Very good. Not the level of some of the limited releases, but among the stuff that you can actually find on a shelf, it’s up there. Strange that it took me so long to try it. Unfortunately, as with so much in bourbon, availability has shrunk and price has gone up. $130 is about the best I’ve found reasonably close to me. It’s not that good.

Buy a bottle? Given the price, I’ll pass.

Final Score: 82.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Stagg Jr batch 12)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (new))
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Pikesville Rye)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Wild Turkey 101)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Maker’s Mark)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Grandad 114)
• 0-49: Blech. (High West Yippee-ki-yay)