It has been awhile since I bought a bottle of Booker’s. Hokus had quite a few in the back for a little while now, but, for me, Booker’s can be hit or miss. Some batches are really great; other are loaded with peanut funk to my palate that is sensitive to that. That, and this bottle now costs $116, as opposed to say $65 for Larceny Barrel proof or Knob Creek Single Barrel. Booker’s releases are always a little younger than Knob Creek’s 9 year old age statement, because that is how Booker Noe preferred his bourbon, while his son Fred has led the charge with 9 year old Knob Creek, and, indeed, even older aged stated release of his 100 proof bourbon. But, I decided to try the most recent batch while watching the bottom of the ninth in game two of the College World Series finals and I didn’t even get a sip before the LSU Tigers clenched the win and the championship! So I had a celebratory sip, wrote this piece, and am finalizing now with another dram. The 2025-02 bottlings is dubbed “By The Pond Batch”, is 7 years old, and comes in at 126.5 proof.

The color on this is a really solid amber, but this was gently aged in a cooler part of a warehouse given the color and age. On the swirl is a very thin film with thin legs; after some time though big droplets begin to form. The nose is really nice – lots of vanilla and oak up front, with some caramel in the background. On the palate, this is one of those Booker’s batches I really like – vanilla, cinnamon rolls, clove, black cardamom, and, thankfully, no peanut yeast funk. This is a wonderful cask strength old school bourbon. Extremely smooth even at this proof; the mouthfeel is medium and not as thick as I would like, but due to the flavors I don’t care. On the finish, cloves and oak dominate the palate, along with some black pepper, and this finish lingers a very long time.

One of the things that make Booker’s and Little Book so fun is that the batches vary from batch to batch so significantly. Booker’s is an expression of the Noe family’s creativity; some of what they do I love and some I do not, but when we are on the same page, as with this batch, I do really love it. Especially the finish on this batch. It is memorable.