Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon

30 years ago, my dad, Booker Noe, released the first batch of his namesake Booker’s® Bourbon as his vision of what the perfect whiskey should be. In honor of Dad’s legacy and in celebration of 30 years of the damn good whiskey he created, we’re celebrating in the best way we know how – by releasing a special extra-aged, limited edition Booker’s® Bourbon.

Fred Noe, Beam Family’s 7th Generation Master Distiller Over the last few years, the floors of some of our rackhouses in Clermont were in need of redoing, so we pulled up the floorboards. We thought it would be a shame to throw away so much history, so we stored them for something special.

Each box of Booker’s® 30th Anniversary Bourbon is made from the reclaimed wood of those floors – the same floors walked by legends Booker and Fred Noe as they selected batches of Booker’s.

Bookers 30th Anniversary Bourbon Review

Color: Medium-dark amber with peach glints.

On the nose: Musty aromas of wine cellars, old book shops, and crawlspaces are the most noticeable characteristics at first. There’s a sweet and rich note of chocolate fudge that emerges, as well as elements of garrigue and Provençal herbs. This has a light and juicy meatiness to it, in the manner of a roasted bone-in chicken breast. With more time in the glass, I start to sense an ashy note that plays against the caramelized, fatty smoke-and-sweet note of burnt ends. Lingering at the top of the nose is a dried floral note of potpourri.

In the mouth: Dry on the entrance, this has a tart touch of lemon juice and an astringent minerality. Suddenly, this blooms with the most remarkably lovely note of candied orange as it moves toward the middle of the palate.

For an instant, there’s a perfect balance between sweet, sour, and stony flavors that is unique among bourbons I have tried. There’s a tobacco-inflected stony note that sits peacefully at the rear of the mouth as the endless finish lingers.

A lean and dry sensation radiates around the back of the tongue and the throat, as a note of macerated cherry re-emerges as a final delightful surprise.