Booker’s Batch 2024-02 was the second batch release of the Booker’s Bourbon 2024 Collection.
Fred Noe, a Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller writes, “I grew up just around the corner and lived next door for years before moving in after Dad passed away. “The Beam House,” as the name suggests, has been part of my family for generations— my great grandad, Jim Beam lived here, my dad, Booker Noe, lived here, and now I do. It’s just kind of the way it goes in our family. We’ve always spent a lot of time here together, whether it’s for Sunday dinners, drinking bourbon on the porch, or doing tastings for batches of Booker’s. Back when I lived next door, I used to walk across the yard with samples from the plant so Dad and whoever else was lucky enough to be there could gather round the kitchen table and taste them over some barbecue.
Booker loved to entertain and always wanted to bring people through the house. Lord knows how many people have been here over the years; friends, neighbors, business partners, employees. Everyone’s welcome. Dad loved when people would stop by and come on out back for a drink, and now it’s a tradition I’m proud to carry on. In this batch, I’ve tried to capture some of the joyful memories I’ve made in the Beam House for you to enjoy at yours.”
The batch is made up of five production dates stored in four different warehouse locations. The age of the batch will be 7 years, 2 months, and 22 days when the barrels are dumped. The proof of the batch will be 124.6 proof. The breakdown of barrel storage for the Booker’s “Beam House Batch” is as follows:
14% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z
28% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse 3
14% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse 3
19% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Q
25% came from the 7th floor of 9-story warehouse H
Bourbon Review:Booker’s Batch 2024-02 “The Beam House Batch”
ABV: 62.3% (124.6 Proof)
Age: 7 years, 2 months
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Distillery: James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Location: Clermont, KY (USA)
The Nose: While none of the aromas of the Booker’s Batch 2024-02 pop they are there if you search for them. There are notes of cinnamon and caramel on the front end of with some heat if you take in too much. Letting the glass sit for a bit there is a subtle amount of berries and macadamia nuts which I wish were more potent.
The Taste: I expected more heat at least on the front end than I received. There is a subtle powdered sugar, dried berries but the star is the Madagascar vanilla that shines on the first sip even though it is short lived. Subsequent sips see hints of green apples, leather and some oak.
The Finish: The Booker’s Batch 2024-2 is thin bourbon that offers a nice warming sensation at the tail end of the slow developing finish that sees cracked peppercorns, oak and leather.
Conclusion: The Booker’s Batch Series feels like it has gone up in price a bit to fast and the the 2024-02 shows that the bourbon hasn’t kept up with the increase. It’s gotten to the point where these bottles have become too high risk in terms of delivery for the price point. If I didn’t have this website I would probably skip many releases until I saw a review, which is often too late to grab the good ones. While it isn’t a bad bourbon by any stretch of the imagination it isn’t a memorable one and because of that, this release falls a bit short. While pricing doesn’t factor into our final score I definitely wanted more than this offered.
Score: 84
Price: $99.99 (750ml)
