Since these are both still fairly widely available on shelves, I thought it would be good to help decide which of these 2 excellent batches of Booker’s is the better one to buy!

For those who don’t know, Jim Beam releases 4 batches of Booker’s each year blended from barrels in different parts of the rickhouses. Both 126.5 proof, both $80.

*Of note, I did compare these against 2 batches that I still had around from 2016, and Booker’s has absolutely improved in the past 4years!

Fancy Glencairn chooses the first batch of the year, let’s see how she fares!

2020-01) 
-The Nose has that familiar Beam salted peanut, along with vanilla and milk-chocolate, and cinnamon. Excellent!
-The Palate is immediately full-flavored and slightly oily. Brief mint notes quickly moves into salted peanut brittle. There is also sweet maple syrup, and baking spices of cinnamon and clove.
-The Finish is fairly long and pleasant, with more cinnamon and clove spice, sweet vanilla, and some lingering oak.
Overall this is a very enjoyable, super flavorful, sweet dram.

2020-02)
-The nose here also has some peanuts, but is noticeably more spicy, with menthol and oak char, along with some vanilla and caramel.
-The Palate is full-flavored and starts with some salted peanut, but here it moves into more of a bittersweet and spicy mid-palate with black pepper, menthol, and oak. 
-The Finish continues the bittersweet notes, along with some cinnamon, and oak tannins.
Overall this is also a very flavorful pour, but less sweetness and more bitter and spice.

VERDICT) Fancy is the clear winner here and it is remarkable how different these 2 batches are!
While I enjoy both, the 2020-01 is one of the best Booker’s I’ve had, and the 02 is average. If you see it, I can highly recommend picking up the 2020-01, it’s up there with Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520 this year!