Tastes

Just had a tasting of this with a friend. It’s his bottle. I get either a wet grass or wet hay on the negative side but the positive side I can convert that to a bit of a Tea note. It’s not bad, but would not buy my friend said it’s one of the worst he’s ever had.

For an 83-84 proofer, this is very enjoyable. On the nose the most prominant note is cereal / grain. Not normally a note that i enjoy but when done well, it’s very engaging. And this is done well. The taste is very spicy which helps add some depth to the low proof. It does drink a bit thin, but that is not a surprise given the proof. However, I would say this drinks at a higher proof than what it really is. I just emptied this bottle and it will be a pick up to shelve again at some point. For the price of $40-$45 and the low proof it’s very well done.

A strong 3.75. Nose is attpical Bookers as it does not have that Beam nuttiness. Nose is softer with more caramel notes than usual and almost bordering on fruity. Taste follows through from the nose with similar notes. Finish is the weakest part of the pour though some noce spiciness lingers it offers little warming or hug and disappates pretty quickly. Would characterize as a Bookers that non-Beam lovers may really enjoy and definitely worth a pixkup at MSRP.

Bougth the pick from Turtle Creek in Bethlehem GA. A great bottle. Nose is actually pretty like goven the prrof but the taste just hits you where you know its higher proof. Tremendous finish that warms and medium long. Great vanilla notes and a lot of places it hit the palette. Only major criticism is that it is a bit drying on the palette … but this is one id buy agai especially for the $50 it sold for.

I enjoy the 13th bourbon, however this french oak finish on this rye is way too heavy handed and overtakes the entire sip. Definitely not something i would be looking to have again so it will sit and be shared with rhise rhat can appreciate. Not undrinkable but just way too finished and not my jam.

Such a great Bookers bottle. May be better than C921 whixh is a personal favorite. Completely coats the mouth, not overly proofy like some bookers come off. Surprising floral and dare i say some honey notes. Those typical Bookers notes come theough but far less prevalent. Buy this and back up as its what a Bookers should be. Could write more and likely will.

This is a very interesting bottle. I did a blind of this against the other knob, creek ages 9, 12, and 15 and this came in last. I certainly would not do a rating off of a blind and coming out of it I really thought that this blind really did not played to the 18 years advantage. So I tried it again on its own next day with a fresh palette, and it certainly drinks much better than it did in the blind. It is quite Oki a bit of spice and just a hint of fruit. My biggest complaint is that the finish is bitter, which is not surprising given the age. the mouth feel is thin, which is very surprising for a bourbon at this age and at 100 proof.  And so this one is very difficult to rate above a 3 1/2 star. I love the 15 year knob creek and rate it Around four,l star and it’s my favorite of all the age statements because it keeps some of the age characteristics, but actually drinks fuller and doesn’t have the better note on the end. We’re gonna let this one slide in the bottle and not go back to it for quite a while and see if it becomes more rounded. I would not buy another bottle of this at its price and think it probably should be somewhere in the low 100s not close to 200. In fact I passed on a bottle at 160 today As frankly, I can get five bottles of nine year at the same price.

I’m reconfirming my four stars which is highly rated for me as I don’t rate many whiskeys this high. The fact that this is a $30 bottle makes me so happy it is in my estimation the best $30 and under which I would say now is budget level bottle on the market. When you pour it look at the color it is so dark. I know it’s non-age stated, but purportedly it’s around six years old to 7-ish and that chiseling method they use at Brown-Forman is definitely working on this bottle and not a gimmick if you’ve never been to Brown, foreman old Forrester’s tour, they do their own coopering and it’s a fun process to watch highly recommend if you go to Louisville on whiskey row. So much caramel, nice vanilla, and just a touch of spice to make an interesting on this hundred proof bourbon. This must be on your shelf and I see it sit on store shelves some people not picking it up and picking up basil Hayden instead that is sad. I’m not trying to be Judgey, but if the store employees would direct people towards this instead of some other product, I think it would be for the better. And frankly, the reviewer that gave it an 85 is way off base. I challenge anyone to put this in a blind with bottles up to 60 or $70 and I guarantee it will hold its own. One caveat. There is a lower proof version of this around mid 80s proof and it’s not near as good. It reminds me of old Forrester 86 when you get a ton of Vanilla And if that’s your thing, so be it but it’s much thinner and not spicy at all so I would steer clear and spend the extra seven or eight dollars for the hundred proof version. Kudos to Brown-Forman for putting out an excellent excellent bottle (Yes, I wrote excellent twice)

After a long night of drinking and proofing down, I poured this and it just was not good. Really thin I had to put a top on my Glencarin to save it and try it again tomorrow, but it was not drinkable after having many bourbons earlier that were higher proof and high-quality, so I don’t wanna knock it for that given it’s a low priced bourbon, so I’ll just say that it’s something that might be good some nights and really bad other nights. I’ll never buy it again, but will periodically pour a glass of it and honestly if you don’t like it, it’s so cheap you can pour it out, which I hate doing but don’t feel guilty if you do.

This is the quintessential. I’m glad I bought it but it’s an overprice bourbon and I won’t buy it again it’s decent, but it’s honestly way over price for its proof and the bottles nice but it’s just very mediocre on the taste kind of bitter, a bit of caramel and nothing more than that.