Booker’s Batch 2016-04 is named after Booker Noe’s love for fishing. He’d take his son, current Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe, fishing for bluegill. Other than making bourbon, fishing was one of Booker’s passions.
This batch of Booker’s comes in at 128 proof and aged 6 years, 5 months and 28 days. Limited editions aside, Booker’s will always come in between 6 and 8 years. The label mentions that THE Jim Beam liked his bourbon aged in that range. “Bluegill Creek” barrels were pulled from four different rack houses, always from the center racks.
One thing Booker’s is known for is its big vanilla note. This is true of all batches of Booker’s, and this one is no exception. That vanilla note is present in the sweet nose alongside light brown sugar, sweet corn and a touch of baking spices. Taste-wise, I get vanilla, sweet & spicy popcorn, caramel, and a touch of ground cinnamon and peanut oil. There isn’t that young corn/grain note I picked up in some of the earlier batches. The nuttiness I normally get from Booker’s is minimal. What makes this batch unique is the presence of more prevalent baking spices. The finish is long, warm and semi-sweet.
All in all, another solid batch of Booker’s, and an extremely drinkable one. This one earns an easy recommendation. 8.5/10
Thanks to Beam Suntory for the sample. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
What we have here is the oldest bourbon released by Barrell Bourbon. Batch 008 is aged for nine and a half years. It’s also the highest proofed whiskey released by the company, clocking in at 132.8 proof. That’s high enough to put a little hair on your chest, as they say. Like the last few batches, Batch 008 was also distilled and aged in Tennessee. It also shares the same mash bill of 70% corn, 25% rye and 5% malted barley.
I’m a relative newcomer to Barrell Bourbon, starting my journey with Batch 005 last year. Batch 005 and 006 are among my favorite bourbons of the last couple of years. Both of those were aged only eight years. Batch 007 was a five year old release that showed great complexity for such a young whiskey. Three exceptional bourbon releases. Does Barrell Bourbon owner Joe Beatrice continue this winning streak with Batch 008?
The nose on this whiskey is intense. Slightly burnt caramel, dark chocolate, spice cake and red cherries flow out of the glass. Taste-wise, we’re talking about a spicy whiskey here: cinnamon bark, dark brown sugar, sharp toasted grain, nutmeg, cherry liqueur, and creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. The spice hits hard at first, then slightly mellows and allows for a creamy mouthfeel to come forth. The finish is hot, which is no surprise given the high proof, and leaves behind notes of cinnamon tinged pastry and slightly astringent oak. A splash of water sweetens things up a tad.
One note about this whiskey – it’s not as sweet as the nose suggests. It instead falls rather high on the spicy and dry scale. I find it interesting that Batch 008 starts off spicy, but then morphs into an elegant mix of spiced fruit and cream, and ends up dry. Not dry in a bad way. Quite the opposite. It makes you want to take another sip, and before you know it your glass is empty. That, to me, is the sign of a magnificent whiskey. This is the most complex Barrell Bourbon release to date. Recommended! 8.5/10
Thanks to Joe Beatrice for the sample. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This year mark’s Lagavulin’s 200th anniversary. Recently at Tales of the Cocktail, I had a chance to chat with Dr. Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach, about the three special anniversary bottlings expected this year.
Ewan Morgan and Dr. Nick Morgan at Tales of the Cocktail
“Our intent was to have a special bottling. Special in terms of the liquid, special in terms of the pack, and special in terms of the story we can relate somehow to the anniversary,” Morgan said. “We wanted to make this accessible to as many people as possible.”
The first of the three bottlings is an 8-year-old whisky matured exclusively in ex-bourbon American hogsheads. “When we started looking at it, the obvious way to go would be to do a non-age bottling because that gives you lots of flexibility to produce something affordable and really nice using young casks and old casks. That’s what Diageo does. We know how to blend stuff. But then we felt that if did a non-age Lagavulin, we would upset the really vocal people in the internet whisky world. That means instead of them saying ‘this is great,’ they would complain,” Morgan explained.
So they started looking at an age-stated whisky. “One of our archivists said Alfred Barnard tasted an 8-year-old when he visited Lagavulin distillery. I said ‘great thinking. That’s the story. That’s the liquid.”
Though famed whisky writer Alfred Barnard sampled an 8-year-old whisky when he visited the Lagavulin distillery in the late 1800s, don’t expect the anniversary bottling to be the same. Morgan explained, “we are very clear this is not the whisky Sir Alfred Barnard would have tasted because he would have got it straight from the cask. It would probably be far more phenolic, and so on. So it’s not a recreation, but for the anniversary I suppose it’s an homage.”
Tasting the 8-, 12-, and 16-year expressions was a treat.
So how is the new 8-year old? Watch my video below where I compare the 8-, 12-, and 16-year expressions, or read on for my full tasting notes.
The nose comes across as bright, with sweet malt, peat and orange. There is a light touch of salted caramel. On entry, a blast of wood smoke hits the palate, followed by a pineapple, orange, tweeted malt and a tinge of vanilla. The finish is long, sweet and smoky. This whisky, though smokier than the 16-year, comes across as more vibrant, giving us more of the distillery character. It is very well made, extremely tasty, and should appeal to fans of Lagavulin. Pick up a bottle before it disappears from shelves for good. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. 8.5/10
Also expected this year is an already announced 25-year-old bottling, and an even rarer single cask bottling. Dr. Morgan said the latter release will most likely be sold by one retailer with “global reach.” The single cask is drawn from a sherry butt, and all proceeds will go to Islay-based charities. “Hopefully it’ll make a difference and leave something behind from the anniversary,” said Morgan. This bottling is expected to cost £1816.
Thanks to Dr. Morgan for sitting down to talk Lagavulin with me. Also thanks to Diageo for the samples of the 8- and 16-year old Lagavulin. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Booker’s Batch 2016-04 is named after Booker Noe’s love for fishing. He’d take his son, current Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe, fishing for bluegill. Other than making bourbon, fishing was one of Booker’s passions.
Adventures In Whiskey 