I've not had such a sordid love affair with Booker's. I appreciate a cask strength bourbon as much as the next guy ( Heaven Hill's Grain to Glass Wheated, for example ) but of the Booker's varieties that I've tried, they were much too fire breathing to truly be enjoyable. Now granted, this might also be attributed to my unwillingness to try a bourbon of this caliber anything but neat. Perhaps these selections could benefit from a pip of water or two. But I can't bring myself to dilute a bourbon of this caliber in any way shape or form. So pretensions aside, I will have my whiskey and bourbon neat, from a Glencairn. Ethanol does hit on the nose of Springfield Batch but perhaps not nearly as heavy as the 124.5 proof would suggest. There is a deep brown sugar and molasses thick sweetness underlying an interesting honey roasted peanut top layer. Coconut shavings and tart green apples cut the savory sweetness but don't outshine it. Fruity blackberry jam, cherries and apple rush forward on initial taste. The proof produces a very viscous, tongue coating mouth feel that works well with the sweet/tart of the fruits. Mid taste and back brings on bitter dark chocolate and tannic oak. There's some baking spice there but again, given the fiery proof of this selection; I would have imagined the spice would be much more pronounced. The finish is long and satisfying, as is the norm with Booker's. Tannic oak and baking spice stay and take center stage whilst the dark chocolate turns a bit dry, leaving a bit of a powdery mouthfeel. Wow. I know that purists of previous Booker's batches might be slightly disappointed by the "tamer" aspect of this bottling but I found this absolutely delightful. I'm shocked that my local Total Wine quite literally had 10 or so of these bottles on the shelf, waiting to be picked. It isn't hard to find this at RRP at the moment, please do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle. You won't regret it.