Johannes Reginald Beam immigrated to the United States from Germany after the American Revolutionary War ended, and he eventually made Kentucky County his home. John J. Bowman, a military governor, presided over Kentucky County, which was still regarded as a part of Virginia at the time. Beam started collecting corn after moving to Kentucky, and he started a family custom of turning the extra grains he collected into whiskey. Since then, the Beam family has been producing whiskey for the firm of the same name for seven generations (the company is named after James Beam, who saved it during Prohibition).

Booker Noe, Jim Beam’s grandson, is honored with the name of the Booker’s brand of whiskey. Noe first bottled the bourbon, which was made from a mash made mostly of corn, to give as presents to close friends and family. The bourbon is now aged in virgin American oak casks located in the middle of a Kentucky rickhouse, where the humidity and temperature are ideal for whiskey maturation.

The first of Booker’s limited-edition line of whiskeys to be launched in 2016 is “Bluegrass” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Jim Beam’s current master distiller, Fred Noe, claims that this unique “Bluegrass” bottling is composed of barrels that were kept in seven separate rack houses: five percent of the barrels were kept in a five-story rack house, thirty-four percent were kept in seven-story rack houses, and sixty-one percent were kept in nine-story rack houses. The barrels are between six and a half and seven and a half years old.

The deep amber color of Booker’s “Booker’s Bluegrass Batch Small” Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is accompanied by a scent of citrus, vanilla, mint chocolate, and barrel char. A remarkable finish characterized by nuts, pie crust, and burnt sugar follows a palate full of caramel, cloves, raspberries, and a touch of smoke.

Booker’s received a score of 90-95 points from Wine Enthusiast and won the Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2006, 2007, and 2009. “This is whiskey the old-fashioned way. “The way it was supposed to be,” Booker says. Get a bottle of this unique batch now!

Notes on Tasting

The color is deep amber, and it smells of citrus, vanilla, mint chocolate, and barrel char. A remarkable finish characterized by nuts, pie crust, and burnt sugar follows a palate full of caramel, cloves, raspberries, and a touch of smoke.