Baker's 7 year Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Cost: $31 at local liquor store (South Carolina)
Age: 7 years 4 months
Proof: 107
Mash Bill: not disclosed, but commonly believed 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley
This particular bottle was from barrel serial number 000-189-696. It was barreled in March of 2016 and lived on rack 38 on the third floor of warehouse W at the Claremont, KY campus for 7 years and 4 months before it was dumped and bottled in July of 2023. (Let me just say that I absolutely LOVE that Jim Beam provides so many details for Baker’s single barrels! You can go to bakersbourbon.com and enter your barrel serial number and it will give you all sorts of great info right down to temperature profile that your barrel experienced for its life in the warehouse. I really wish every distillery offered even half this level of detail for single barrel products.)
Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.
Appearance: Auburn sherry in color and super thick and oily looking. This beads very well on the side of the glass and makes extremely slow legs.
Nose: Spicy! There’s a heavy spiced profile with a good amount of vanilla and burnt caramel sweetness. There’s a little toffee on the backend as well. I’m really not finding much nuttiness in the nose though (as one may expect and as a lot of others find with Baker’s).
Palate: There’s a decent amount of heat here making it seem higher than 107 proof. This is very viscous rolling around on the palate. There’s a heavy amount of baking spice and black pepper, a little toasted vanilla, all backed by a solid oak foundation. There is a little nutty profile on the backend fading into the finish. This is a pretty bold flavor profile.
Finish: This is a pretty fun finish! It starts off with sweet vanilla and peanut brittle but then quickly turns into a very warm finish flush with baking spice, charred oak, and toasted nuts. There’s an astringent tingling left on the palate and a moderate hug that starts high in the chest and warms slowly down to your belly. It’s a fantastic, long finish for a cold winter’s night!
Rating: 7.0/10
Overall: Baker’s bourbon is probably my favorite Beam product to date. Albeit there’s certainly a lot of I haven’t had, but putting this against various Beam products from Old Tub to various batches of Booker’s, I find that Baker’s 7 year has resonated the most with me. I find that the “goldilocks” zone of proof for me is the 100-110 range. With this falling in at 107, it’s really firing on all cylinders for me and the flavors are robust and pronounced. My only harping on this particular bottle is how hot it was on the palate. This is my 3rd bottle of Baker’s that I’ve tried though, and It’s probably the worst of the three in that regard. A little splash of water goes a long way and helps cut the heat on it though without losing much flavor. All in all, I have not had a bottle of Baker’s that I haven’t liked, and even with the heat of this particular bottle, it’s still a top favorite from the Beam portfolio. I’ll also add, this particular bottle I got for a complete steal at $31! I’ve happily paid $60 for Baker’s in the past and still don’t have a problem with it at that price. If you ever see it on sale for $45 or less though, just buy it. Don’t even hesitate and try and look up if it’s worth it. Just get it, you won’t regret it.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
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