Booker’s 2022-01 Ronnie’s Batch

Good but not worth $100 – Tastes better at $70 – 80

DISTILLERY	Jim Beam
REGION	Clermont, KY
AGE	6 Years 11 Months & 22 Days
STRENGTH	62.15% ABV (124.3 Proof)
MASHBILL	77% corn, 13% rye, and 10% malted barley
MSRP	$70-100

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GLANCE

Clear with deep intensity and rich mahogany color

NOSE

After fighting through the ethanol (will need some time to be open so it can dissipate), these are the notes I got. Its definitely spice forward, actually a huge baking & white pepper spice forward with dense oak. Through that denseness I was able to get brown sugars and vanillas. After this, the classic Booker / Knob Creek nose appeared. This consisted of peanut & peanut butter. But this time it was more roasted peanuts than sweet peanut. As I kept nosing, I got hints of cardamon and strawberry jam like aromas.

PALATE

Medium sweetness and oily texture. It is mouth feeling and has pronounced flavor intensity. Initially milk chocolate (sometimes oat milk) with tons of baking spice, pumpkin all spice and roasted peanut/peanut butter entered. As my palate acclimated to the dram, I got nice pops of strawberry, macadamia nuts, butter cashew and notes of stewed fruits. There are baking spices throughout.

FINISH

Drying with vanilla and oak. Medium in length and simple

CLOSING REMARKS

Before I leave my remarks, here are some tidbits on the background of this Booker’s!

From Fred Noe

“The first release of the Booker’s® Bourbon 2022 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2022-01 ‘Ronnie’s Batch.’ This batch is named in honor of Ronnie Land, a longtime employee at the Jim Beam Clermont and Boston, K.Y. plants, when my dad, Booker Noe, was master distiller. During his 40 year career at Jim Beam, he worked his way up to the Warehouse Manager position. Ronnie was always known to shoot straight with Dad, and Dad put a lot of trust in him because of that.

Ronnie was responsible for keeping inventory of aging barrels, a key part of the bourbon-making process. Back then, we had to track barrel quantities and locations by hand – no computers for that! – and Ronnie knew it all by heart. He also knew exactly where Dad preferred to store his namesake Booker’s barrels and, in time, he was trusted to prepare the samples for Dad to evaluate for the next batch. Once, Ronnie sent me home with a box of small Booker’s samples for Dad to taste. When Dad saw the samples, he said they weren’t big enough to get a proper sense of the whiskey, so what did Ronnie do? He went back into the warehouses and prepared samples that were notably bigger! Dad was more than pleased and that became the standard sample size Ronnie gave us from then on – and still the size that Freddie and I use today!

Dad always had final sign off when it came to his Booker’s Bourbon, but he knew he was working with barrels that met his standards when they were under Ronnie’s watchful eye.
Dad valued Ronnie’s dedication, work ethic and honesty and, because of this, he would be proud to honor Ronnie with a batch of his own. I hope you enjoy a glass alongside close family and friends.

— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller

Break Down of the Blend

4% came from the 3rd floor of 7-story warehouse 5
7% came from the 4th floor of 9-story warehouse D
15% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse 1
26% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Q
48% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z

To kick of 2022 this batch of Booker’s is not very complex (only a couple or so dominant flavors) and does come in hot. Takes a few mins for it to settle down to let some other flavors come through. If you like your whiskey very bold and spicy this is the bottle for you. Is this a pour I will reach for often? Not likely. Is this worth $100 for this experience? No. I feel OGD 114 which costs $25 – 30, offers a similar flavor profile with more fruits and has the proof to back it up! Booker’s 2022-01 Ronnie’s Batch is not bad but not great. Cheers!