Booker's Bourbon Batch 2021-02 "Tagalong Batch"

Nose: Dried plums, herbal tea. Subdued nose Palate: Boiled peanuts, oaky char. Bit of dusty leather Finish: Cocoa power, peanut brittle, long nut finish Interesting journey on this Bookers, bit more muted than past Bookers, but still worth exploring

Where to begin? The nose gives away little of what is to come. That first taste explodes into an abundance of flavors: fruit, and an exquisite burn that leads into a slow, glorious warm finish. What an engaging dram!

To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has a B4 on it. The nose starts with grade a dark maple syrup poured over fresh off the iron skillet flapjacks cooked with browned butter then comes the fruit toppings of sautéed cinnamon apples, brown sugar grilled peaches, light orange zest and maraschino cherries followed by dark chocolate covered candied pecans, ginger, and old vintage leather wrapped around antique polished mahogany furniture with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a syrupy rich mouthfeel starting with grade a dark maple syrup poured over those brown butter soaked, fresh off the iron skillet flapjacks then comes the fruits of sautéed cinnamon apples, brown sugar grilled peaches, orange sports drink and cherries jubilee followed by a mild spice that fades to dark chocolate covered candied pecans, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and old vintage leather wrapped around antique polished mahogany furniture with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with dark chocolate oranges, honeycomb, toasted coconut, candied pecans, slight chalky orange flavor, a slice of hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream, high end leather boots and polished mahogany that lingers for minutes. Wow, what incredible and fantastic bourbon that you can tell it’s going to be great just based on that rich nose that brings in all those traditional bourbon flavors but ramps them to an 11. The taste is similar to the nose, keeping those traditional bourbon flavor notes at an 11 with a thick mouthfeel that has a mild spice and finishes what seems like forever. Alright, this seems to be gunning for a 5, so time for another head to head match with the Garrison Brothers Cowboy. Head to head it was close, but the Cowboy managed to come out on top and really bring out what I believe to be a Dickel chalky orange flavor that I’m not fond of in this one. If it wasn’t for that Dickel chalky orange, I think this would have topped the Cowboy, so if that doesn’t bother you, I’d say buy this mystery bottle. I have yet to guess on any of these blinds on what bottle they could be, but I feel like I can venture a guess based on previous experience with that old Dickel coming out in the middle and finish that this is a blended whiskey made up of Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana over 15 years old and bottled by Barrell. Well time to email Lex and find out if I’m right that this is Barrell 15 and the email with the picture revealed shows ………………. Booker’s “Tagalong Batch” 2021-02. Well hot damn, I was way off! Alas, this is a stunningly good bourbon that Distiller expert tastings notes say there is a children’s vitamin flavor in it which must have been where I thought Dickel mixed with Kentucky. I also didn’t get any of that Booker’s burn that I normally find in it, but lesson learned and I probably won’t be trying to guess the bottle again in the future.

Neck pour, neat. Leather and apple nose with some heat and a hint of peanuts and caramel. Taste starts with vanilla and apple, but then all the toasted seasonal spices kick in (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice) and stick around through the clean medium-long finish. Full bodied with a cascading hug. Unironically, this is a proper pumpkin spice bourbon. A drop of water didn’t bring out new notes, but the taste got more crisp and the finish rounded out some. Very enjoyable sipper.