Sandalwood | Leather | Chinese cinnamon | Spicy vanilla | Light roasted coffee bean | Chocolate | Dried dark fruits

Vanilla | Spicy oak | Nutmeg | Nutella | Tobacco | Dry leather

Burnt orange rind | Robust spicy cinnamon | Dark brown sugar | Leather | Leans dry & slightly tannic | Good amount of lingering heat

Jim Beam typically releases four Booker’s named batches a year, and they can, at times, taste somewhat similar. They do feature more nuance than many care to look for, and sometimes you have to work for it. Sure, this is somewhat of a generalization, but it's batches like “Jimmy’s Batch” that break the mold and stand out for their uniqueness.

Booker’s Bourbon Batch 2024-04 opens with rich notes of sandalwood, leather, and Chinese cinnamon that sets off the sip in a unique spot. It doesn’t scream “Booker’s,” but that’s a good thing. From there, it adds spicy vanilla, light roasted coffee bean, chocolate, and dried dark fruits and creates a nicely layered and quite complex aroma. The palate is structured on classic vanilla notes but offset with spicy oak, nutmeg, and Nutella. The finish introduces burnt orange rind, robust spicy cinnamon, and dark brown sugar with a leather and slightly dry/tannic undertone. Together, this wide array of flavors is constantly engaging.

For all of the interesting places “Jimmy’s Batch” takes you, the bourbon is still hitting a particular part of the flavor spectrum quite narrowly. Though it allows the ability to differentiate its flavors, they are rather tight, and by the end of the sip, predictable. It still takes Booker's in a direction that it needs to go in 2024, long term, there are interesting takeaways to be learned here.