Booker’s “Kathleen’s Batch” Bourbon Review (2018)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

The first installment of Booker’s this year honors Kathleen DiBenedetto, a protege of Booker Noe who is still with Beam today, after a tenure of more than a quarter-century. Shortly after starting work with Jim Beam, she became part of the team marketing the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, of which Booker’s was a part. If you are old enough to recollect bourbon in the early 1990s, then you’ll recall that before Knob Creek, Booker’s, Baker’s and Basil Hayden were introduced, “premium bourbon” was pretty much limited to Blanton’s, Maker’s Mark and Elijah Craig. DiBenedetto was one of the people who helped blaze the path to where we are today.

Booker’s Batch 2018-01 was also the one selected in conjunction with the Booker’s Bourbon Roundtable, which met in New York this time. This evolving group of writers, bartenders, store owners and prominent enthusiasts get to sample various potential iterations of Booker’s and vote on a favorite. I’ve always had a “meh” attitude towards this note; I’m sure it’s fun to participate in the Roundtable, but I’m also fairly certain that the batches not actually chosen by the Roundtable are generally released later on anyway, so it’s fair to wonder how much of a difference it all makes. Certainly I have found myself disagreeing with the Roundtable’s majority will from time to time.

That said, Kathleen’s Batch is a cask strength (127.4 proof), 6 years, 3 months and 14 days old bourbon. It’s a proper small batch, drawn from a consignment of just ten barrels.

The Bourbon
I was a bit surprised by the look of this Booker’s batch, it being a clear, coppery amber. Usually this sort of fairly mature, but very high octane bourbon is darker. The swish and coat formed plenty of heavy tears.

I found the nose to have the very expected heavy presence of rich vanilla and brown sugar, accented with an earthy whiff of wet clay, roasted sweet corn and a current of cedar wood. The earthy side and slight smokiness come out only upon the addition of water, which I found necessary because this particular Booker’s was a bit hot on the nose and a bit hotter on the palate. That done, the flavor mirrored the scent almost perfectly, with a note of butterscotch added for good measure. The finish was substantial and lasting, running with caramel and toasty oak.

Kathleen’s Batch is completely in keeping with what I expect from Booker’s nowadays, with a little bit of a twist on it to keep things interesting.

The Price
Official retail on Booker’s Kathleen’s Batch is $75 a bottle, but one often finds Booker’s being sold for a little less (the old price was $60) or a little more.