Review #539 - Booker's 2024-01 'Springfield Batch'
Jim Beam's 'Booker's' series puts out 4 releases each year - here's the first from 2024, titled as the 'Springfield' batch. The age of the bourbon here is similar to most other Booker's releases: 7 years, 7 months, and 8 days, to be specific. The batch takes its name from the town in Kentucky where Booker Noe was born and raised.
Jim Beam gives us a handy breakdown of the stock that was used for this batch:
45% is from the 4th floor of 7 floor Warehouse 3
31% is from the 5th floor of 7 floor Warehouse Z
17% is from the 5th floor of 9 floor Warehouse G
7% is from the 4th floor of 9 floor Warehouse H
After blending the components together, the resulting barrel proof strength is 62.25% ABV (124.5 proof).
Booker's 2024-01 'Springfield Batch'
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 100 (2024)
Age Statement: 7 Years
Strength: 62.25% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered; batch 2024-01
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle 80% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Rich and potent - strong dusty oak, peanuts, and almonds start us out. There's a bit of sweetness from caramel, and then we get a nice Honeycrisp apple scent; combined with the sweet caramel, it's like caramel-dipped candy apples.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel; this batch is nicely rounded, with a good mixture of oak and nuttiness, staples from Jim Beam bourbons. Brown sugar, lots of drying oak, some soft caramel, a light wood spice - very much a classic Beam profile. The texture is quite oily.
Finish: Rounded and oily, and while the oak stays strong, it's nicely integrated - never too tannic. Warming, with a mixture of caramel and dry cocktail nuts; it's a medium-long finish.
Final Note: Quite a cohesive, rounded batch - it doesn't have any flavors that are too daring, but the nose, palate, and finish, all contained the same notes for a pleasant tasting experience. It's still warming, but this batch doesn't drink quite as hot as some of the other Booker's batches.
Value around the MSRP is about average; this is a good barrel strength bourbon, but not unique enough to justify a price over $100. A solid batch, but beware of overpaying for these Booker's releases at greedy stores.
Our Average Rating: 7.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.46
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other reviews of Booker-related releases:
Review #507 - Little Book Chapter 7: 'In Retrospect'
