Booker’s Bourbon 2019-02 “Shiny Barrel Batch” Review: Details and Tasting Notes

In Jim Beam’s Words:

Back in the day, some of the distillery’s rackhouse workers would carry around “mules” – pieces of plastic tubing they carried in the front of their overalls – and use them to thief out a taste of whiskey (or two) straight from an aging barrel. Some of these men had, shall we say, prominent physiques.

When they went in for a taste, their bellies would rub on the side of the barrel, removing dust and shining it up. Some used to say, “the shinier the barrel, the sweeter the whiskey,” and most often, Dad would find these shiny barrels in the center cut of the rackhouse where the temperature and humidity were just right.

Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Region: Kentucky, USA

Distiller: Jim Beam
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 6 years, 5 months, 1 day
ABV: 62%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Batch: 2019-02 “Shiny Barrel Batch”

Price: $75*

Booker’s Bourbon

Tasting Notes

EYE
Ruddy caramel

NOSE
Dark fruit, peanuts, oak, cinnamon, leather and a touch of vanilla and biscuits.

PALATE
A heavy slab of wood followed by notes of dark fruit and bits of cinnamon, cocoa, peanuts, chalk, char and orange candy.

FINISH
Long -> Dark fruit, oak and spice which turns to peanuts.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, med-full body and a light oily feel.

Shockingly soft and easy. Aroma starts out fruity with nutty notes growing as it opens; Palate reverses that and the darkly fruity notes grow as it opens with a slightly heavier spice in attendance; Finish rolls it all together in a nice slow fade. On the whole it becomes butterier as it opens and gets a peanut-brittle-meets-butterscotch note threading through.

It’s absurd how easy the Booker’s Bourbon 2019-02 “Shiny Barrel Batch” is straight out of the bottle, but I still added some water to see how it changed. Water brought out more chalk in the aroma and more cocoa and peanuts on the palate and it felt a bit oilier. It doesn’t have the depth and punch of something like the Kentucky Chew, but is instead a velvety soft and complex whiskey.

Quite nice indeed.