All about Booker's

Booker’s Bourbon is a part of Beam’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection (the other are Baker’s, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden’s). It is a straight-from-the-barrel Bourbon, without dilution or filtering.

That’s why you will see a range of strength on the label from 121 proof to 129 proof. The aging is also a range — from six to eight years, sorted by taste.

The name comes from legendary distiller Emeritus Booker Noe who would bottle straight from the barrel Whiskey to give as gifts to family and friends. Booker passed away in 2004, but there is a big statue of him in his honor at the Jim Beam Distillery.

Booker's is over 60% ABV. Most experts recommend a splash of water or on the rocks, and Booker’s is strong enough to stand up to it. But it is also a very refined product.

It has flavors of chipotle spice and dark chocolate with butterscotch in the background and a rich, thick mouthfeel. Think of Central American molé sauce (pronounced “mō-lay”). It also won American Whiskey of the Year.