• Price: ~$150 (2024)
• Spirit: Whiskey
• Proof: 118.2 (58.1% alcohol)
• Noses (smell): Rye spice, dill, and butterscotch, slight vanilla
• Palate (taste): Rye spice, floral, and this lingering
• Age Statement: Varies as is a blend

Distiller information

Background

Bookers is a quarterly release bourbon that strives to be a premium product line from the makers of the Jim bean which is owned by the Beam Suntory (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan). Its claim to fame is being the highest alcohol content out of the brands produced by Jim Beam. This is considered a cask strength bourbon even though the it isn’t present on the label. Booker’s bourbon is aged between six and eight years and is bottled un-cut and without chill filtering at its natural proof between 121 and 130.6.

Bookers Little Book is that and more refinement. Designated to an annual release only this product is a step up from the quarterly releases that we have come to live with when it comes to Bookers. For the “Path not Taken” this is an expression that pulls from a lot of Rye whiskeys. As seen below the mixing can be described as the following

Release information (From the distiller)

MASTER DISTILLER NOTES

The batch is made up of barrels from four production dates that were aged in four different warehouses. The breakdown is as follows:

• 18yrs Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (High Rye)
• 11yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• 7yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Malt Whiskey
• 5yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (KY Family-Style, Char 4)
• 5yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (PA Family-Style, Char 1)
• 5yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (PA Family-Style, Char 4)
• 4yrs Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

“Path Not Taken” is about reimagining the variety that rye grain has to offer and pushing the limits of what it can be. We look across America’s oldest whiskey frontier from a new vantage point and create a complex, redefined and differentiated profile by blending ryes of different age, char and mash bill.

The story of rye has been told countless ways. But never like this.

Tasting notes. Booker’s Bourbon | Batches. (n.d.). https://www.bookersbourbon.com/batches

Onto the Review

Temperature

The nose is exactly what it says, lots of butterscotch with rye bread / spice notes. The sharp smell is the dill note that is listed.

Taste wise is a balance of rye flavors. For me a lot of rye’s tend to lean very sharply towards the rye flavors to a point that they can be too much. This is nice balance of being forward in rye and flavors. They are long lasting oak with sweet fruit flavors. They say apricot on the label, but it’s just a sweet fruity and floral kind of flavor that so far is good and enjoyable

Conclusion

Bookers and Little book have always been subjective in the fact that they are always those that reminisces on the days that you could pick up these bottles for $50 and $70-dollars area. The issue with inflation and other things, have made these continue to climb just like all our other favorite allocations of items that we as bourbon hunters have come to accept as normal now.

The other side is that Bookers is a harsh bourbon. I won’t lie to you it’s what makes Bookers who it is, and that certainly been the case for a lot of them. For all my Little Books, (having tasted 5, and own 6, 7 and now 8) all of them have been able to stay surprisingly consistent in regards to quality and level of impression they leave. They certainly are not the best bourbon that you can try as there are those with more characters and other with more wow factor. Hell, sometimes I wonder if we drink this stuff wanting to grow chest hairs some times.

Overall, anytime I see the black boxes on the shelf I always find myself grabbing the next one. They always have this character and uniqueness to them and for me that worth it every time. Would I recommend it to everyone. No, but I would recommend picking one up to see if you like it or if you find it at a bar, trying it as well. I don’t think you will be disappointed at all with any of the options

Score