Let’s recap: in 2023, Booker’s was my disappointment of the year. None of the four batches was outright bad (ok, Mighty Fine Batch was); it was more disappointment over how boring it had become. The same tasting notes and brand descriptions, the same overall profile, with an unclear direction as to whether this was supposed to be batched and thus different per batch, or if it’s just four releases per year from barrels barreled on the same date that fit into an overarching profile.

I vented quite a bit on this in my review for the Little Book “The Infinite”, so I won’t spend so much time on it here. The point is, much like where Little Book is at the end of 2024, Booker’s at the end of 2023 felt like a brand without direction.

Boy, did 2024 mark a turnaround.

Entering 2024, the expectation was that a 35th Anniversary bottling would be coming. After all, we’d had 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th, plus a smattering of special editions in between (Booker’s Rye, anyone?). And yet, as the year wore on and we kept peeking at Coming Whiskey’s instagram, no 35th Anniversary label appeared. They couldn’t keep it a secret forever - COLAs are public, after all - and yet, nothing.

Maybe Beam-Suntory decided that 30 years was enough? I can’t imagine they didn’t have stocks they found worthy of a release the size of its predecessors. Or maybe (and this is 100% from the rumor mill) there were so many shakeups happening that it wasn’t a priority for them. Whatever the reason, we had some better-than-great releases, none more so than Booker’s The Reserves.

There were several batches this year that were not only standouts for Booker’s, they were outright bourbon of the year contenders. Jimmy’s Batch (2024-04) will be on my list for sure. If Little Book “The Infinite” had been a Booker’s release, it would be there, too. But Beam saved the best for almost last with The Reserves 2024.

This is an exceptional bourbon. Layers upon layers of flavor, evolution between sips and with air, sense memories evoked, seriously, it hits all the must-haves for me to use the word exceptional.

The note that most readers will pull out as the weird one (with good reason) is the parmigiano crusts. It came to me immediately, so I couldn’t deny it as a sense memory, but I did think about how to present it. The key here is to think of real, aged, hard rind parmigiano, the kind you splurge on for a great Italian dish and not the Kraft parmesan that we like as kids but hopefully grow out of. They sell rinds at most supermarkets now, and if you throw a rind into any kind of italian dish that stews (think bolognese or something like that) it adds a beautiful depth of flavor, with nutty, creamy, just a bit tangy notes rather than an in-your-face cheesiness. If it were the latter, it wouldn’t be a very good note for whiskey…I hope. Here, the slight savoriness is beautiful.

Beyond the parmigiano, there’s a surprisingly strong malt component. Beam - and by this I mean any of the Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Booker’s, etc., aren’t known for having a high malt content and even less so for being malty in their flavors. I have less than a clue as to why this particular release has such clear ale and lager notes, but I’m here for it.

Between the Beam peanut notes and the malt-forward character, this transported me to a bar with peanuts on the counter and sticky floors from spilled beer, the dive bar you start at to pregame for the rest of the night. Next up is the restaurant with a great bourbon selection, allowing those nutty and savory notes to expand into sunflower, almond butter, and yeasted rolls. Finally, it’s time to hit the malt shop with chocolate covered pretzels, turtles, a chocolate milkshake, and dark fruits covered in darker chocolate. Sweet, savory, a touch smoky and salty, this is exciting and exactly what I’ve been looking for for Booker’s to differentiate itself once again, even if the differentiation is from itself for a change.

Final details:

The 2024 release spans eight production dates and eight different warehouses, these barrels were aged as follows:

• 8 Years, 2 Months, 12 Days on the 4th floor of warehouse G

• 8 Years, 5 Months, 19 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse I

• 8 Years, 5 Months, 20 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse Z

• 9 Years, 2 Months, 3 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse Q

• 9 Years, 2 Months, 4 Days on the 6th floor of warehouse J

• 9 Years, 5 Months, 18 Days on the 7th floor of warehouse H

• 10 Years, 3 Months, 2 Days on the 4th floor of warehouse X

• 14 Years, 4 Months, 16 Days on the 6th floor of warehouse I

Thank you to Booker’s Bourbon for providing this sample free of charge. All opinions are my own.

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Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2024 Release: Specs

Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Producer: James B. Beam Distillery

Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

Proof: 125.9 (62.95% ABV)

Age: 8 Years, 2 Months, 12 Days (Youngest) Component)

Location: Kentucky, United States

Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2024 Release Price: $130

Official Website

Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2024 Release: Tasting Notes

Eye: Dark amber maple syrup. Thin-medium rims, medium legs and drops.

Nose: Pale ale with peanuts at a bar, beer spilled on the floor. Yeasted brioche dough with crystallized sugar. Almond butter and sunflower seeds. Proof stings up the nose, but doesn’t blow it out.

Palate: Caramel pretzel bomb turns into a turtle bomb with milk chocolate and caramel drizzle on some kind of a Starbucks latte where you’re not supposed to taste the coffee. Peanut shells, parmigiano crusts (yes, I know that’s weird, but there it is). Mouthfeel is creamy and mouthfilling, peppery on the front half of my tongue, rolls under and on the sides, remains beer-forward and dark.

Finish: Brown ale, no hopes, almost like a chocolate malt with vanilla drops. Malted dark chocolate milkshake. Medium length, longer on feeling than flavor. Deep fruit (dark, stewed plums) opens out of nowhere late, leading this back to a bourbon palate.

Overall: With that late burst of flavor, the pour becomes much rounder and more balanced and goes from very good to great. Before then, it was still a worthy pour at Booker’s prices, but that fruit adds something I didn’t know was missing.

Final Rating: 7.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary

8 | Excellent | Exceptional

7 | Great | Well above average

6 | Very Good | Better than average

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary

4 | Has promise but needs work

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation