Booker's Bourbon Batch 2016-05 "Off Your Rocker"

Rating: 20/23 N: Much lighter than I'd expected. Lots of minerality and peppermint mixed with stark tannins. Hints of conrmbread and vanilla, but they're barely present. This nose is unfortunately pretty vacant, with largely unappealing scents filling it. P: This is a lot better than the nose. It doesn't quite have the big boldness that Booker's often does, but there's this vanilla, cornbread sweetness with a faint butteriness that carries throughout. Peppermint comes in and there's a constant spicy bite. I'm getting big mint julep vibes from this and that really isn't a bad thing. There's almost a bit of yeastiness here too. A bigger sip showcases more of a white bread sweetness with a bit of herbaceousness and spices. It's nice, but lacks some of those flavors that I liked in the smaller sips. I get hints of licorice in here as well, which is very typical of Beam and is neither good nor bad in this context. F: Much drier than the palate, with those big, astringent tannins finally coming out. I get some lingering vanilla and butter, with faint cornbread sweetness. Definitely licorice and mint. Kind of off-kilter overall here, but not bad. - Conclusion - I think I might get why this was titled "Off Your Rocker". There's a lot of weird flavors hitting at different angles and plenty of worrying moments, but it somehow comes together and is quite enjoyable. Though maybe I'm just expressing that a very nice palate saves this from the mildly troubled finish and complete mess of a nose. This clearly beats Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (18-19/23) and my bottle of Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (18/23). I'm thinking a 20. I could maybe be convinced of a 21, but I don't think so. A 19 strikes me as more likely than a 21, but it's not like either is out of the picture at all. Coming back to this, I was able to put it up against my bottle of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23) and this won. I'm going with a solid 20 here. A big thanks to @Milliardo for sharing this dram!

Little hot, definitely vanilla with slight toasted almond, black pepper and anise, oily, not my favorite bookers

(2016-05) Nose went from bubble gum to hot brownie. Very sweet taste. A little hot at 129.7 proof but very enjoyable. Still undecided on how I feel about the bubble gum note. For $12 a pour i would drink it all day.

Since my bottle of this is long gone this is a memory review. This was one of the most, if not THE most, delicious & satisfying bourbons I’ve ever had. It bowled me over at the time & I’ve been chasing something equally as good ever since. I recall it being rich, lush, moderately sweet & spicy. So well-balanced & so wonderfully good. #DAD