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- Suggested retail price: $129
- We will pour one ounce for $4
Back when we first opened our doors in 1992, we didn't realize that we were at the dawn of a great revolution in American whiskey. American wine had really taken off. American craft beer was just getting going and American distilling was about to turn a corner. In the prior 40 years, the number and quality of American whiskeys and distilleries had done nothing but decline. Two men turned this whole thing around. Booker Noe over at Beam Distilleries and Col. Elmer T. Lee at Ancient Age Distillery. Booker was in the sixth generation of the Beam family to produce Bourbon. Col. Lee had been at Ancient Age since returning from WWII.
Elmer pioneered "Single-Barrel" Bourbons while Booker Noe produced "Small-Batch" Bourbons. These were novel concepts at the time. They revolutionized and reinvigorated American Whiskey. Booker was the first to release a "Cask-Strength" American Bourbon, or at least it was the first one Mark and I had ever seen. I remember learning what that cask strength meant the day after encountering my first bottle of Bookers. Those were delicious Manhattans and that was one mean headache. But in moderation, Bookers is delightful and a benchmark whiskey.
Booker's son Fred Noe runs the place now. He has released this special edition Bookers to commemorate its 25th anniversary. Only about 1,000 cases of the special edition will be released. Booker’s is always a cask-strength spirit with a proof that ranges from 120 to 130. It is normally aged for six to eight years, but this special-edition batch is over 10 years old.
“These barrels were laid down in January 2003. Dad passed in February 2004, so I guess essentially you could say that these are some of the last barrels that dad produced before he passed away,” said Fred Noe. “The extra-aged Bourbon here is very special, so we’re going to do this one in honor of my dad.” Here's to Booker. See you at 6:30!