Booker’s 2018-4 Kitchen Table
Fredrick Booker Noe II was Jim Beam’s grandson and the master distiller at Jim Beam from 1965 -1992. He’s also the namesake of Booker’s Bourbon. Booker’s Bourbon first came to be when Booker would hand select barrels to give as holiday gifts for friends. Eventually the popularity of these bottles caught on and Beam started to bottle in mass. Booker’s was launched in 1988 as the first mass produced bourbon bottled straight from the barrel, uncut and unfiltered.
Booker’s bourbon ranges in proof between 121-131 and is aged 6-8 yrs. It’s the highest proof bourbon in the Jim Beam small batch collection.
Booker’s is one of the small batch brands of Beam Suntory, so it enjoys all the benefits of being a rich kid, but still marketed as a limited release kind of small batch brand. The good news is that it doesn’t seem to have caused the company to rely on their history and cut corners on the quality of the bourbon.
Bookers dub’s each release (a quarterly batch) with a name. This one is “Kitchen Table” named for a favorite spot in Booker Noe’s home back in the day. Previous releases in 2018 were “Kathleen’s Batch”, “Backyard BBQ” and “Kentucky Chew”, (a singularly unappetizing name for a bottled brown liquid in my opinion).
At 128 proof, you would expect an intense tasting experience and you wouldn’t be disappointed. I’m no bourbon expert and I’m an aficionado the way a fat man that can’t cook is a buffet aficionado, so my observations are to be taken in that context, but this bourbon has a lot going on.
Even if you knew nothing of tasting a new bourbon, the intensity of the nose would cause you stop and linger a moment just to get your bearings on what you are smelling in there. Vanilla? Caramel? Nuts? All of that and more.
The mash bill for this offering is: 77% corn, 13% rye, and 10% malted barley, aged for 6 years and 8 months. Born, raised and bottled at the Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.
One writer described Kitchen Sink as “powerful, yet elegant” and I agree, inasmuch as any 128 proof bourbon can conduct itself with sophistication.
Booker’s is a solid premium bourbon. Reliable and dependable. You will never be disappointed. If you are new to premium bourbons, Booker’s is a great place to start…or end for that matter.
We suggest you give it a try. To encourage you in that regard, we’re giving away a bottle of Kitchen Table this month. Click below to register and we’ll draw a name May 2nd. Check back here for the winner.
