Booker’s “Off Your Rocker”

A little background

Booker’s Bourbon showcases the barrel proof, uncut and unfiltered version of Jim Beam Distillery’s product. Constantly putting out new batches with creative and unique names, it is enjoyed by many and considered a great go-to barrel proof whiskey. Booker’s “Off Your Rocker” (2016-05) sits at 129.7 proof, and is 6 years and 7 months old. Its mashbill is made of 77% corn, 13% rye and 10% malted barley. When released in 2016 this bottle was around $60, however since then the MSRP has been raised to around $75.

(Tasted neat from a Halo Glass)

Color

Dark Amber

Nose

Ethanol is a very dominant scent of this whiskey. This is to be expected, though, from a 6 year 129.7 proof whiskey. Dark, stewed raspberries are present, as well as a dark, roasted caramel. Upon bringing the whiskey closer to the nose (taking a faux sip), strawberry jam makes its way in.

Palate

Dark caramel, stewed raspberries, strawberry jam, and molasses dominate the palate. The sides of the palate receive a very nice nutty sensation. Towards the back of the palate, a flavor reminiscent of hot buttered biscuits comes into play. It is absolutely delicious! It’s like drinking a southern breakfast. The texture is thick and oily, it is clear that it was not chill-filtered.

With water: softens a lot, fruitiness comes out a lot more. Sour fruits but a tad sweeter. There is a strange woodiness to it and slight leathery mouth feel.

Finish

The finish is fairly long and maintains that biscuit flavor, as well as some of the dark stewed berry flavor. Peanut sits on the back and sides of the palate, lingering for a couple of minutes. It is long and flavorful, enough to be satisfying and tasty enough to make you want to go back for another sip before the flavor is gone.

In conclusion

This is a great whiskey! I really think every distillery should do something like this, and include an uncut, unfiltered version of each of their mashbills. Barrel proof whiskey can both hide flaws behind ethanol, and also use that same proof to bring out some incredible flavors. I really think that the thought and time put into each Booker’s batch is worth it, and there has only been one batch that I haven’t been a fan of so far. $60 was a no-brainer for this batch, and even at the slightly higher price point today in 2019, I would still go after these bottles. Be on the lookout for reviews of more batches, I promise they will come.