If you were to take a poll of most well received bourbons currently on the shelf today, Booker’s would be in the hunt for a top spot. In a time where age statements are dropping like flies, prices are continuing to rise, and premium bottles are becoming increasing more difficult to find, Booker’s is a product that continues to spit in the face of all those trends.
Until recently, Booker’s releases have just been a batch code with the exception of a couple of limited editions. This applies even to the “roundtable” batches from 2014 that were selected by panel of industry “experts”. That all changed this year when Beam upped their marketing game for the brand and is now giving every batch a special nickname. In the bourbon nerd circles this move was met with some eye rolling as it was obvious Beam was trying to play up some sort of special release nature to what would be the same Booker’s product that’s always been available.
Eight months into the year and I think we all have to hand it to Beam-Suntory as their strategy appears to be working. It seems a week doesn’t go by lately without someone popping up on one of the bourbon social media groups to ask about the new “special” Booker’s release. You have to imagine that for every person who makes one of those posts there are hundreds more who are buying the product with the same idea.
All the marketing fluff aside, here today we have the third batch released this year named “The Center Cut”. The name comes from Booker Noe’s favorite warehouse location which is where the barrels for Booker’s are sourced.
Aged 7 years; 63.6% ABV; $60; Distilled by Beam
Nose: A blast of sweet caramel corn and light spice. There is a good amount of woodiness. It runs slightly warm but overall a very nice nose.
Taste: Tastes a lot like the nose - lots of corn and caramel with a hefty dose of wood. A little youth comes through with some new-make type fruity mash flavors and there is also some of the typical Beam nuttiness. Think caramel corn banana sundae topped with peanuts and a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Towards the end of the palate some smoky char comes in along with heavier rye spice and something I’ve never tasted in Booker’s before - an earthiness that is almost like dirt? That last part is rather strange but I’ve tasted it each of the 6-7 times I’ve visited this bottle.
Thoughts: While it’s no more special than any other Booker’s release, this is a good whiskey. I’ve had a couple of batches lately that I thought tasted a little more young but this one has a more mature taste which brings some depth that I’ve been missing in the product lately. The earthiness that depth brings puts it a little out of balance for me but overall it’s a solid representation of everything Booker’s represents - a brash, unapologetic bruiser of a pour that hits you in the mouth with classic bourbon flavors.
Rating: B / B+
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