Booker [yes]

Okay, so I haven’t blogged in a bit. Sorry about that. Moving on. I was moved to blog tonight by a bourbon that I’m in the middle of tasting.

Booker Noe bourbon is the entrancing glass I have the pleasure of getting to know this evening, specifically Dot’s batch 2015-02. What can I say about this bourbon that hasn’t been said about Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory? It’s magical, everything about it is delicious, and spoiler alert: the snozzberries taste like snozzberries! I think that about covers the movie references.

Tasting this bourbon started with a heavy nosing session, but don’t worry, I used protection. On the nose I found some of the following notes: chocolate, burnt sugar, luxardo cherries, oak. My nose could live in this glass for the rest of my life, and I don’t know if the spectacular scent of this tasty beverage would become tiresome.

If you thought the praise would be confined to the nose, you would be sorely mistaken. Let me preface by saying that this particular dram weighs in at 127.9 so the sips I’m taking are tiny. I also added about 10 ml. Of water to the glass after the first two sips. The mouth feel of this is thick, and syrupy, and the flavor envelopes all of the oral cavity as one gently sways the bourbon from side to side. I always turned my nose up at the Jim Beam syrup they sell at the store, but now I may think twice before I pass it again… The flavor of this bourbon without water contains toffee, cocoa powder kind of flavor, but once I added the water this bourbon very nearly took on all the notes that I was smelling to start this glass. Heavy chocolate flavor, Nutella, and roasted nuts (teehee) were at the fore of, and the finish is where the char from the oak comes out to play with the other kids. 

Overall, this bourbon ranks probably within the top five I’ve got on my shelf. I am definitely getting to be a bigger fan of some of the barrel proofed bourbons that are out there. There’s something about their body, and flavor complexity that is simply unmatched by most proofed down bourbon. The only thing that is holding this bourbon back for me, is that the sweetness, while pleasant, is almost overwhelming to the other flavors that present themselves in good bourbon.  If you have the means, I highly recommend picking up a bottle of Booker’s bourbon special batch.