There’s nothing incredible or mind blowing here, but it is incredibly solid and interesting enough to hold your attention through the pour. Just good bourbon without frills.
Baker's is a nice bourbon from the folks at Jim Beam. But it suffers from a lack of defining character to set it apart from the other offerings in the Jim Beam Small Batch lineup, making it a somewhat pricey option when Beam has better balanced or less expensive bottles available that cover the same flavor profiles.
It has a mild maple scent and complex layers of vanilla, cigar wrapper, tea and orange peel, with a spicy finish. The alcohol feels moderate, even mellow, for over 100 proof.
Palate has a very interesting sweet/spicy battle going on with a middle of tongue burn. Expect leather, orange, black peppercorn, vanilla and cinnamon.
With the exception of Basil Hayden’s, I fully enjoy the complexities and nuances that releases like the Baker’s Bourbon bring to the traditional Jim Beam whiskey.
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House Review
Nose:
Cinnamon, leather and some weird oak funk. Not as much Beam peanut butter funk as I expected.
Taste:
Caramel and vanilla, theres a good deal of maple and oak as well. Some odd funkiness on the back of my tongue, almost vegetal but overall it drinks like a standard beam mashbill bourbon.
Finish:
Medium to long, longer than expected. Lots of cinnamon and molasses here as well as that nice peanut brittle.
Overall:
It seems that I go on and off on a daily basis on whether I love or hate this bottle. After sitting down with it for a while, its a good $35 bourbon. Not quite bookers but not every day is a Bookers day. Its not amazing but its not terrible either.
Score:
80
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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