Baker’s 13 (The Baker’s Dozen)

COST: ~$130 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

AGE: 13 years 3 months

MASH BILL: 77% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted barley

PROOF: 107

I’m pretty comfortable saying that Baker’s bourbon is my favorite expression from the “general” Jim Beam line up. And while I’m quite happy with the standard 7yr variety, I have wanted to experience the Baker’s 13, or the Baker’s Dozen as I refer to it. 😊 I’ve seen two bottles in the past, one at which I passed on due to some other bottles I was interested in, and the second simply because the $299 asking price for it was way too high. Well, a fellow whiskey enthusiast came through and hooked me up with a sample to finally try it out! Let’s see what it’s all about!

This sample was from barrel serial number 001476991. Reviewed neat in a juice glass and paired with a cigar (I took this sample along with me on a houseboat trip and had to use what was available 😉). I did jot down a majority of my notes before starting on the cigar to ensure the palate was unadulterated.

NOSE: English toffee drizzled with caramel, stewed red fruit, and marzipan. There’s a lighter oak note for a 13 year bourbon than I would have expected. There is a delicate mix of baking spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice as well.

PALATE: It has a syrupy mouthfeel with charred sweet oak right away. There’s more of that red fruit than was on the nose, but richer and sweeter, almost like a raspberry compote made with light brown sugar. There’s also a note of rich, warm caramel. There’s a solid black pepper spice and light nutty note as well that help balance the sweeter side. This is very tasty and well balanced. (Paired with a cigar, the sugary notes pop a little more and the mouthfeel is made a bit thinner.)

FINISH: Medium to long length and zero hug. There’s a nice spicy oak note, peppery tobacco, and a sweetness of reduced cherry vanilla cola that linger for the perfect amount of time and can continue to show up even over this dark maduro cigar.

RATING: 8.2/10

VALUE: 6.8/10 (this value is based on a ratio of the $/mL to the rating above compared to this same ratio for all other r/Bourbon reviews I’ve made and normalized to 10)

OVERALL: I wasn’t expecting the red fruit that I got on this one based on the profile I normally get from Baker’s 7. Granted, this is a single barrel, so perhaps it’s unique for this barrel. But if you know my reviews, I love red fruit notes! So that was a welcome surprise. This is generally quite similar to Baker’s 7 though, with those caramel notes, nuttiness, and mild spice. I would say it’s best described as just richer or more robust than Baker’s 7. Is it worth the price increase? That’s subjective, but I would say no just from the standpoint that it’s not different enough from Baker’s 7 to make it worth the significant (like 2-4x) price increase over it’s 7 year little brother.

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08