Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon Emerges As Late Season Unicorn

The Booker’s Bourbon bottlings are something we are used to seeing hit multiple times a year, with upwards of four individual, pretty high proof releases coming to market. Every now and again this super premium American whiskey label from Beam Suntory throws a special release into the mix which becomes highly coveted, such as Booker’s Rye a couple years back. Now word has come down of the next unicorn in this brand’s line up – Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon.

Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon, according to those behind it, celebrates the legacy of late Beam master distiller Booker Noe and the founding of his namesake brand some three decades ago. To this end, and under the watchful eye of Booker’s son and current Beam master distiller Fred Noe, this new bourbon was put together by mingling 9-year-old (70% of the blend) and 16-year-old (30% of the blend) Kentucky straight bourbon whiskies into a very limited edition bottling.

“It’s a great honor to release Booker’s 30^th Anniversary in commemoration of my Dad and the path he paved when he introduced the world to Booker’s Bourbon,” said Fred Noe in a prepared statement. “When we first started talking about an anniversary batch, I knew it would have to be something special, and during my final tasting of this extra aged liquid, I knew Dad would have been pleased. I’m proud to carry on his legacy every day and to share this special release in honor of the damn fine whiskey he created 30 years ago.”

This new bourbon is bottled at 125.8 proof and prices around $200 per 750 ml bottle. Each bottle of it is topped with a special silver wax and then packaged in a box made of reclaimed wood from the rackhouses “where Booker once walked as he selected his personal batches of Booker’s Bourbon.”

You’ll find official limited tasting notes for Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon below for your consideration. Besides following Booker’s Rye as a limited edition bottling, it also trails on the heels from a similar release for the 25th anniversary back in 2014. That one at the time, interestingly enough, was the first of the more regular releases for that year, pricing around $100. What little is left of that release at retail prices now at upwards of $750, minimum.

The taste profile of this bourbon is lighter than most batches of Booker’s, with a quick, dry finish that does not overpower your palate, and offers robust notes of vanilla and oak from the mingling of whiskies present in this release.