Baker's 107 Proof 7 Year Bourbon Review

Confession time: I didn't think I liked Bourbon (or American Whiskey on the whole), my experience with such things was limited and not the best with the only Bourbon proper I'd had being Jim Beam Triple Aged 6 year old Black label, which I found a bit too sweet and simple -albeit not bad.  I'd also had Jack Daniels Old No. 7 which, whilst not technically a bourbon is one in most ways that count, I found to be overly young, simple and sickly sweet.  But I kept hearing about various Bourbon's that sounded rather good.  Yesterday I went into the local liquor store and wanted something different to the usual Scotch, I looked at some rums but then I saw the subject of today's review, Baker's 107 Proof Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon, the price was quite reasonable and I recalled vaguely having read some quite decent reviews of it (though I couldn't remember specifics), and thus the bottle was mine.

Price Paid: $75.99 nzd.

This Bourbon is part of Jim Beam's "Small Batch" range that consists of apart from this one, Knob Creek 9 year old, Basil Hayden's 8 year old, Booker's True Barrel Bourbon, and the subject of today's review the 7 year old Baker's 107 proof. This Bourbon is said to use the standard Beam mash bill but with a different yeast, is 7 years old and bottled at 53.3 per cent.  It's a fiery big beast of a Bourbon and one to be approached with care.

Tasting Notes:

Colour:  Rich mahogony.

Nose (neat): Spicy rye notes, pepper, nuts, green pistachio nuts, slight toffee and caramel, a wonderful rich fruitiness akin to Cognac, hints of milk chocolate.  As it develops more in the glass the Rye, spice and pepper notes become more subdued and the fruity Cognac and nutty notes become more pronounced along with the Chocolate ones.  Surprisingly low on alcohol smell for something bottled at such a high strength.  Overall a very interesting nose that starts off quite aggressive, powerful and spicy, then becomes rich, fruity and chocolatey.  Rather complex.

Palate (neat): Arrives with a powerful burst of oak, spice and pepper, followed by nuts and fruit and charred notes, green pistachio nuts and green bitter woodiness, after some time in a glass the cognac fruit and chocolate notes become more prominent.  One thing that stays constant over time in the glass is that at the end the pepper and spices take over again and build intensly.  Overall quite interesting, this is a fairly aggressive palate, but then becomes richer over time in a glass.

Finish (neat):  medium length, pepper, oak, the green notes mentioned before.  Overall a dry finish that I quite like.

Well, it's quite impressive Neat so let's see how a little water and some time in the glass changes this Whiskey.

Nose (with water):  Much less of the rye, pepper and spices, now the first things I note are the green woods, buts and vanilla, the Cognac fruitiness is also considerably greater.  Overall this smells a lot like a very dry green oaky Cognac (though it is still noticeably a Bourbon.

Palate (with water):  Pepper and oak still lead, though much more diluted, then come the Cognac and vanilla type notes, the pepper and spices build up again becoming very intense then start to fade as the green notes come through.  Overall quite a lot milder than without water, still dry but focusing more on the sweeter aspects of this Bourbon.

Finish (with water):  Lots of the green notes oak and nuts.  Still rather dry but less powerful.

I'd say that this Bourbon is very interesting, both with and without water, I'm inclined to prefer the big attack and fire of this Bourbon neat, but I'll take it either way.


This Bourbon has certainly changed my mind about Bourbon and American Whiskey in general.  I love it, whilst it's not hugely complex -though it does have a reasonable amount of complexity-, it does have a wonderful combination and balance of flavours (both neat and with water).  It's a substantial big flavour dry Bourbon that isn't overly sweet or harsh (although it is fiery and you must approach it with care).  I'd give this Bourbon an 89 / 100, and I highly recommend this Bourbon.


Well this was my first review, I hope you guys liked it and I'd appreciate any feedback or tips for it, you'd be doing me a real favour if you did so.  Thanks for taking the time to read it.