Booker’s Bourbon Batch No. 2013-6 A Collaborative Choice

Booker’s Bourbon from Beam is one of the spirit giant’s small batch bourbon offerings alongside Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s and Baker’s. It is well received by most bourbon lovers, having first been introduced in 1992. Now, some 25 years later, a batch chosen from barrels that’s going to market was hand picked in collaboration with top whiskey experts to produce Batch No. 2013-6, retailing for around $50 for a 750 ml bottle.

Booker’s Batch No. 2013-6, according to Beam, came about after Fred Noe, seventh-generation Beam Master Distiller, 2013 Bourbon Hall of Fame Inductee and son of Booker Noe, kicked off in August a tribute to his father by

hosting his own Booker’s Bourbon Roundtable, consisting of a select group of whiskey advocates, writers and experts. This esteemed group participates in “virtual” tastings and discussions to handpick select batches of bourbon worthy of the Booker’s name. Not since the 1980s, when Booker started sharing his bourbon with his best friends, has such an exclusive group been invited back to the table to take part in this Beam family tradition.

The batch chosen by this crowd, like others before it, was bottled “straight-from-the-barrel, uncut and unfiltered, and bottled at its natural proof.” All batches are normally aged for six to eight years in charred oak barrels, which are stored in the center of the rack house. For this specific release, aging time was seven years, with a proof of 126.5. Flavor characteristics suggest on the nose strong spices and hints of cherry and vanilla, while the finish is described as being long and smooth.