Booker's Bourbon Batch 2022-03 "Kentucky Tea Batch"

This review reminded me to find my assessment of the Lumberyard Batch from the same year. I apparently never posted it, dating back to December 2024. At that time, I expressed disappointment at not being able to find another 2022 bottling. Now, my issue is resolved. Lumberyard was exceptional. Let's see if this one compares. Nose: Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Pipe smoke. Green tea. Ginger. Steak sauce. Sawdust, pipe smoke, and cocoa. It leads with spice and wood, but there's also underlying sweetness. Maple. Pecan pie. Apricot. Almond and walnut. Palate: Chewy caramel and milk chocolate. Vanilla and toffee. Banana walnut muffin. Almond and macadamia. Butterscotch. Baked apple pie. Perhaps it's psychological, but I detect some sweet peach tea. Sawdust and oak. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Toffee, vanilla, and caramel. Lots of black pepper and cinnamon. Steak sauce. Oak. It evokes meaty, BBQ, and barrel smoke notes. Sweet peach tea again. Red hot tamale. Very long-lasting. This was fantastic. Smoky and spicy with grilled meat notes, layered with fruit and dessert sweetness. The tangy tea and ginger provided complexity. Combined with the wood and nut elements, it creates a rather distinctive Booker's profile, yet it feels very much in line with the Booker's brand. It's safe to say 2022 was a good year for Booker's. I will certainly purchase any more from this year that I find. I paid $125 for this bottle, which is a bit high for Booker's. I'm sure it was available for less when more were on the shelves, so I won't be too critical. The value is definitely there, regardless. A perfect score for this one. I'm very happy I managed to acquire it.

2022 Booker's releases compared. Booker's 22-03 A touch of heat, vanilla, and wine-like aroma. Sweet, light plum fruit, and vanilla flavor; a tiny bit of peanut is barely perceptible on the palate, then carries into the finish with a decent amount of spice at the end. 4.5/5 My Booker's 22-04 Syrupy, peanut aroma. Sweet maple, light cereal on the palate, with a little more nuttiness. It definitely has a nuttier aftertaste but less spice. 4.75 The 22-04 is the winner tonight. It suits my palate and preferences in a Beam product better. I can certainly understand why others might prefer the 22-03, and perhaps I would too on a different evening. Not tonight. Cheers!

If your sole enjoyment of Booker's comes from peanuts, or if you exclusively favor wheated bourbons, do not purchase this. However, for any other bourbon enthusiast, this is an essential acquisition while it's still available. If you haven't experienced cask strength and are curious if it truly offers more flavor, this is an excellent bottle to try neat. At $99, it's a bit expensive, but its versatility is high, and you can adjust the profile by adding water or ice to experiment with your preferred ratio.

AROMA Currant-forward, luscious dark fruit, toffee, oak, vanilla cake, spice, with hints of leather and nutmeg. Quite mellow, with all components layered beneath a blanket of jammy dark fruit. PALATE OAK, currant-forward, luscious dark fruit, burnt caramel, vanilla frosting, intricate baking spice, and traces of leather, cocoa, herbal notes, and ash, with a tannic impact. This batch is heavily oaked, and a little water doesn't significantly alter it. FINISH Extended, featuring oak, herbal spice, cocoa fading to ashy dark fruit.

This bourbon has the expected taste and consistency of a quality Booker's. I tried a scotch technique by adding a small amount of water. The result was amazing! The aroma, initially nutty, transformed into an almond scent. Furthermore, the flavors on the tongue intensified significantly, by about three levels. This is an excellent bottle, truly premium. I'm now questioning if the 'Kentucky Tea' explanation on the menu (bourbon mixed with water instead of tea) was intentional guidance…

Surprisingly few legs in the glass. The nose is lovely, with stewed apples and spices like cardamom, coriander, and cream of tartar. The palate hits directly. Hot spice and bitterness. A little melted ice brings out the peanut flavor, and the spice intensifies, but the dry bitterness remains. The finish has notes of leather, hay, and pepper.