Enough politics. Focus on what’s important, people!
This month’s selection for our Bourbon club is Booker’s, a high-end, cask-strength product from Jim Beam. At 130 proof, this is among the stronger of spirits that you can get. I paid just under sixty dollars for the bottle at BevMo — it was not on sale, and the guy had to go get it from the back for me.
I found the color to be that of honey and the overall look translucent rather than transparent. The bottle’s presentation in the pine box is attractive as well. The bottle is protected at the mouth by a pour of black wax, neater than the drippings from the red wax used by Maker’s Mark as its trademark, and easier to get through, which is a good thing. The tasting guide that came with the Booker’s touted its inclusion in a family of small batch bourbons and suggested that this one be enjoyed neat, so that’s how I initially tried it.
The alcohol was so strong when I had it neat that it burned my tongue a bit. I couldn’t really taste anything other than the alcohol when the spirit was neat and at room temperature. A couple of rocks dropped in helped considerably, and I learned later that the distiller advises this as well.
Thinning out the spirit with the water opened up the flavors so they became discernible. The opening flavor was the traditional caramel associated with the corn mash forming the foundation of all bourbon whiskies. The body is almost herbal, and the finish is smoky, like the kind of Scotch that I favor. All told, for this experience I think I’d rather have a Scotch, but I did find that the Booker’s was quite enjoyable with rocks. Personally, I do not think that whiskey of this quality should be mixed with anything other than ice, and I’m aware that there are those who would criticize me for even using that. But it would be just plain sinful to mix this stuff with ginger ale or — may the whiskey Gods forbid it — cola or fruit juice.
Bear in mind that this is strong stuff. It’s unfiltered, straight from the barrel. A one-ounce taste, less than a finger in my tasting glass, left me a bit dizzy. (Granted that I tasted on an empty stomach, which enhances the effect.) So be sure to enjoy this Bourbon responsibly, after all your day’s driving is done and with no former romantic partners’ telephone numbers handy.
Or maybe your experience was different than mine. That’s what the comments section is for.
I’m meeting friends to hear music tonight, so I’ll be joining in this month.
Any recommendations about how I might get it? (rocks, up, manhattan, etc)Report
I enjoyed it with rocks way more than neat. And you’ll probably only need one.Report
Three then. Got it.Report
What’s the music? Local?Report
Yeah. Guys I know.Report
Mysterious…
Have fun!Report
No mystery intended! Like, friends of mine in a band, as opposed to “[band name] is in town.”Report
Oh, yeah, those guys. They’re great.Report
I need to pick up a bottle when I get home next week, been looking forward to trying Booker’s (this and Blanton’s are the two higher end bourbons I’m most excited to try out).
Supposedly, you can get a Jim Beam with Port that’s distilled in Kentucky but only sold in Australia – I hear you can get it at one of Changi International’s Duty Free shops, so I’m going on a search on my way out tonight.Report
Booker’s is good stuff (Baker’s is also quite good). It’s what I was quaffing during the Mindless Diversions hangout on Friday. I almost always go rocks in my whiskies; I am in a hot clime, and I find there are few that aren’t smoothed out/opened up with just a skosche of icemelt anyway.Report
I proposed to Mrs.Dwyer about a mile from where they made that stuff. When I was a kid the Jim Beam tour was always my favorite.Report
We have cheese making tours around here. I’m coming to visit you.Report
Thanks for jumping on this, Burt. Sandy has left me high and dry. I am well, but cannot devote either the physical or digital attention to the club. I’ll report back when I may but kudos on a great intro to this month’s tasting.Report
Take care Kazzy, hope all is well.Report
Dude, I am so sorry to hear this. Prayers and wishes for your guys.Report
Good luck and take care!Report
Good luck to you.Report
Take care of business first, man. We’ll share one of these later.Report
If you were ever going to loot a liquor store, now is a very opportune time.Report
Hey all…
Thanks for the kind wishes. I probably overstated the case, in part because of poor word choice and in part because of a hastily typed message on the iPad.
We are without power but the house is otherwise fine. We are actually quite fortunate that the tree that came down back in September did so then, as it likely would have caused more damage in this storm and with a longer timeline for repairs. Living in the boonies like we do, our well cutout with the power so we were without water (though did fill up the tubs and all available basins). We’ve been staying at a friend’s place most nights and are now transitioning to another friend’s. We should have power by the end of the week. School starts tomorrow (we were in today for meetings) and a slow return to normalcy will be welcome.
Everyone is healthy and safe. I’m starting to crash after going at 110% to keep Zazzy comfortable and calm and to ensure we didn’t become a burden on our evergracious keeper. Who knew keeping TWO almost-30 women could be so exhausting? When I was finally separated from both earlier today (I work with the young lady who had been housing us), the enormity of the past week hit me and I’m dragging now. But, all is well and we will soon be back like nothing happened.
Thanks again for the kind words and show of support.Report
You need some whisky.Report
In what may be my favorite robo-tweet of all time, it looks like Burt’s title got this post a tweet shout out from the World Fishing News.
https://twitter.com/WorldfishingReport
That’s fishing hilarious.Report
Sounds chest-hair stimulating…Report