Booker’s Bourbon 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the youngest-ever release of Booker’s by age on the label. At 6 years, 5 months old, it’s barely a 1st-grader. Granted, there could be older stock in there (and likely there is) but damn, Jim Beam, it’s one thing to cut it to 7 years but less than six-and-a-half years? I love Booker’s, and even I was a little worried about the age.
It’s got the color, it’s got the profile (if you search for it), and it’s got the heat, but ultimately it’s too damn young. My one-line review for this is “you’ll find the flavors you want, but you have to swim a river of ethanol to get to them.” In other words, the alcohol is too present, even for a Booker’s.
Booker’s is meant to be a punch in the tongue. No one drinks Booker’s looking for a light or easy sipper - it’s a proof bomb and always has been since the days of Booker Noe himself picking the barrels. That being said, behind the proof is a brown sugar, vanilla, baking spice, nutty wonder…usually.
Some are off-profile or lean into one arm of the profile (see: Granny’s Batch, which was basically a roasted peanut liqueur). Those can still be considered good batches, because the bourbon itself is solid, vaguely Booker’s, and well done.
The issues start when flavors, proof, and age become unbalanced. Some of the best batches of the past few years, such as 2019’s “Country Ham”, are heads and shoulders above others because they are balanced. There’s a variance threshold for each of the three factors, and when one or more goes beyond that tolerance, it’s no longer recognizably Booker’s (nor, in most cases, a good bourbon).
This kind of fits in-between the two, like the overlap of a Venn diagram. The core Booker’s profile is there - vanilla, peanuts and shells, brown sugar - but it’s enveloped in alcohol that is still closer to raw than it is to matured. Going by the barrel locations, there’s nothing to indicate something out of the ordinary: all are in that cross-section zone Booker’s barrels are pulled from.
So, my conclusion is simply that this is too young. Beam doesn’t release the ages of each barrel or even each batch added to the blend, but I’m curious to know at least what the oldest barrel was in here. I didn’t feel this was over-oaked (my hallmark for overaged whiskey), and yet the profile being so on point leads me to think that it’s simply composed of batches and barrels that were bullseyes on flavor but weren’t old enough yet for the alcohol to mellow into flavor rather than ethanolic heat. Just see Beam’s notes for this:
The batch is made up of barrels from three production dates that were aged in six different rackhouse locations. The breakdown of barrel storage for Booker’s Tagalong Batch is as follows:
4% came from the 3rd floor of 7-story warehouse 5
3% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse X
13% came from the 5th floor of 9-story warehouse D
33% came from the 6th floor of 9-story warehouse H
40% came from the 7th floor of 9-story warehouse H
7% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z
The deep rich color of Tagalong Batch comes from the mid-to-high rackhouse floor locations where these barrels have matured. With pronounced aromas of caramel and vanilla, balanced with the “sweet brown” wood sugar flavor notes from the charred white oak barrels, this batch carries a bold flavor with a surprisingly clean finish - making you want to come back for another sip.
Three production dates could be young, slightly older, and slightly older. Mid-to-high rackhouse floor locations could work out fine (see Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye, Tennessee Taster’s Rye, and Old Forester’s 117 High Angel’s Share for successful high-location premium whiskies), but they can also mean a bourbon looks and tastes ready when, in fact, it’s not.
I’m not quite ready to jump the shark on Booker’s - I’ll still buy 2021-03 and -04, and probably keep going after that - but for the love of Booker’s, please, please, please let it go just another year. Just one more year is all I ask. Just long enough that I can enjoy a pour of Booker’s without wondering if I’m drinking a batch that’s not old enough to pronounce its own name yet.
Booker’s Bourbon 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch”: Specs
Classification: Bourbon
Origin: Jim Beam Distillery
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 127.9 (63.95% ABV)
Age: 6 Years 5 Months 0 Days
Location: Kentucky
Booker’s Bourbon 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch” Price: $89.99
Booker’s Bourbon 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch” Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Toasted honey. Thin rims very slowly bleed blobs.
Nose: Ethanol and boiled peanuts. Dark, dried fruit sweetness. The peanut and vanilla profile kicks in with a little air, peanut brittle too, freshly poured onto a silpat.
Palate: A tongue-punch, but the palate is true to Booker’s core. More vanilla and brown sugar open with just a little roasted peanut. Brioche and sweet morning buns freshly iced. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy, a spice bomb, but the ethanol starts to quickly build back up and drown the flavors in a sea of alcohol.
Finish: Stays hot, especially on the tongue, though there’s enough peanuts to make things a little interesting on a short-to-medium finish.
Overall: Unbalanced - the proof is flat out punishing, and shouldn’t be. Booker’s, when right, is a super flavorful bruiser. I’m starting to worry about these getting younger and younger…
Final Rating: 5.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
