Review: Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2024 and “The Beam House Batch” 2024-02
Beam’s Booker’s brand is getting its first new innovation since 2019 with the launch of The Reserves, the first of a new, annually released series that elevate the Booker’s experience even further. The twist? These aren’t the result of a single day’s production but rather a blend of barrels pulled from the “center cut” of the warehouse. For the inaugural release of The Reserves, that includes eight production dates and storage in eight different warehouses (though no proportions are offered):
8 Years, 2 Months, 12 Days on the 4th floor of warehouse G
8 Years, 5 Months, 19 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse I
8 Years, 5 Months, 20 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse Z
9 Years, 2 Months, 3 Days on the 5th floor of warehouse Q
9 Years, 2 Months, 4 Days on the 6th floor of warehouse J
9 Years, 5 Months, 18 Days on the 7th floor of warehouse H
10 Years, 3 Months, 2 Days on the 4th floor of warehouse X
14 Years, 4 Months, 16 Days on the 6th floor of warehouse I
The whiskey is of course bottled uncut and unfiltered, like all Booker’s releases.
Following the review of The Reserves 2024 we’ve got coverage of the latest standard Booker’s limited release, 2024-02, “The Beam House Batch.” (Somehow our sample of 2024-01 never made it.) More details about 2024-02 are available in the writeup.
Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2024 – Immense nose to start things off: Loads of barrel char, almost charcoal-like, are backed up by intense aromas of dried fruits, dark brown sugar, and a slathering of baking spices, heavy on the cloves. Ample time in glass helps tame some of the wood, though it remains dominant, sliding gently toward notes of wet leather and musky cologne, almost sweaty at times — in a good way, I mean. The palate does not shy away from any of this, though the fruit is more forward than you may expect — think stewed prunes and dried cherries, well-spiced with more clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The expected vanilla-caramel notes are omnipresent here, as is the barrel char. Again, it’s very toasty with lots of wood, coming across as almost burnt. Notes of tea leaf and coffee build as the finish approaches, with elements of toasted walnuts, rum raisin, and burnt marshmallows all represented. Give it a healthy splash of water to tame the beast and evoke some cola and flamed orange peel notes, because this is hot stuff in more ways than one. 125.9 proof. A- / $130
Booker’s Bourbon “The Beam House Batch” 2024-02 – 7 years, 2 months, 22 days old — just a month older than 2023-03 — named after the old Beam family home, of course, which dates back to Jim Beam himself and is where distiller Fred Noe still lives. The nose is a more traditional, expected expression of Booker’s — at least more so than The Reserves — with lots of wood abutting ample fruitiness. Raisins and blueberries quickly perk up, followed by spice and, finally, a bold, green tobacco note. On the palate, dried fruits and sweet orange slices spare for dominance, with mint chocolate also well represented. Racy at full proof, continued exploration evokes heady notes of incense, with drying, bittersweet chocolate emerging on the finish. Ample cinnamon and red pepper notes cling to the back of the tongue as the experience fades out. Ideal with a splash of water, but go easy on it. All told, it’s an altogether fine expression of Booker’s that feels like it’s pitched right down the middle. 124.6 proof. A- / $90 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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