Booker's Bourbon Batch 2026-01 "Big Easy Batch" Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Name: Booker's Bourbon Batch 2026-01 "Big Easy Batch" Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Brand: Booker's
Price: 99.95 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Price

$99.95

/

✔ Vault-Verified & Authenticated
✔ 21+ Adult Signature on Delivery
✔ Insured Shipping in Climate-Safe Packaging
✔ Sourced Direct or via Vetted Partners
Returns & Authentication Policy

Age: 7 Years, 2 Months, 15 Days | Region: Clermont, Kentucky | Proof: 129.1

Secure payments

Vault Insured Shipping

21+ Adult Signature Required

129.1

Proof

64.55%

ABV

7yr

2 mo · 15 days

5

Warehouses

2026

First batch

Booker's Bourbon Batch 2026-01, the “Big Easy Batch,” is the first Booker's release of 2026 — a Kentucky Straight Bourbon aged 7 years, 2 months, and 15 days and bottled uncut and unfiltered at 129.1 proof (64.55% ABV). Selected by seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe from five production dates across five warehouses, it is named for New Orleans, one of Booker Noe's favorite cities.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

01

The first release of the Booker's 2026 Collection — batch code 2026-01, announced in March 2026.

02

Bottled uncut and unfiltered at full barrel strength: 129.1 proof, 64.55% ABV, with nothing added and nothing taken away.

03

Carries a precise age statement of 7 years, 2 months, and 15 days — the Booker's tradition of dating each batch to the day.

04

At 129.1 proof it sits near the top of Booker's usual 120-to-130-proof band, and squarely in the 6-to-8-year age window.

05

Blended from five separate production dates stored across five different warehouses, at floors chosen for how each ages the barrel.

06

Named the “Big Easy Batch” for New Orleans, a city the late Booker Noe returned to all his life.

Nº 02

The Small-Batch Original

Where barrel strength began

The idea

Booker Noe's own pour

Booker Noe created this whiskey in the late 1980s as a gift for family and friends, poured straight from the barrel — uncut, unfiltered, and years ahead of the barrel-proof movement it helped start. It went on sale to the public in 1992.

The place

The Small Batch Collection

Booker's is the uncut, unfiltered member of Jim Beam's Small Batch Collection, released in four named batches a year, each generally 6 to 8 years old and 120 to 130 proof. Big Easy sits at the upper edge of that proof range.

Every batch is selected and released once, standing for a specific flavour profile from a specific moment in the program — which is why collectors track the run batch by batch rather than expecting a fixed, repeatable bottling.

Nº 03

The Big Easy

Why New Orleans

For a man who lived in Kentucky, Booker Noe found himself in New Orleans often. The batch is his son's tribute to a city his father loved for its food, its music, and its welcome.

The man

Booker Noe

Founder of Booker's Bourbon

Made his first trips to New Orleans as a young man, later honeymooned there, and returned so often the city once renamed Bourbon Street “Jim Beam Bourbon Street” for a day in his honor.

The story

The Lucky Dog cart

As told by Fred Noe

Booker's admitted favorite was not a white-tablecloth restaurant but the Lucky Dog street cart on Bourbon Street — a hot dog he sent his son to fetch and pronounced one of the best bites of his life.

In Fred Noe's words Master Distiller Fred Noe, Booker's son, said it was the flavors of New Orleans that held a special place in his father's heart — a fresh oyster here, a bowl of jambalaya there — and dedicated this first batch of 2026 to that lifelong affection.

Nº 04

The Batch Composition

Five warehouses · five production dates

Booker Noe's insight that a barrel ages differently depending on where it sits in the warehouse changed how bourbon is made. This batch is built to that principle — five sub-lots, each from a named warehouse and a specific floor:

24% · Warehouse GSixth floor of a nine-story house — the largest share, from high in a tall warehouse where the barrels run warm.

22% · Warehouse JThird floor of a nine-story house — a lower, steadier position for balance.

22% · Warehouse MFourth floor of a seven-story house — mid-height in a shorter warehouse.

16% · Warehouse HThird floor of a nine-story house — a second low-and-steady sub-lot.

16% · Warehouse OFifth floor of a seven-story house — upper-middle in a shorter house.

Higher floors run warmer and age faster; the mix of floors and warehouses is how the batch is dialed to its target profile.

Nº 05

The Tasting Arc

The brand's official notes

I

Nose

VanillaSpice

The classic Booker's opening — sweet vanilla over warm baking spice.

II

Palate

WarmRobustBig and bold

Full-bodied and unmistakably Booker's, the proof carrying weight without turning harsh.

III

Finish

LongLingering

It stays a while — warming and slow to fade.

Beyond the official card The brand's notes are deliberately short. Reviewers of this batch have also widely cited red fruit, plum, raisin, chocolate-covered cherry, hazelnut, and tannic oak — useful as impressions, though only the vanilla-spice-warmth arc above comes from the distillery.

Recommended serving

The distillery's own advice: neat, or with a splash of water. At 129.1 proof a few drops open the sweetness and calm the heat without drowning it; a single large cube works for a slower pour. It is built as a sipping bourbon, and it earns a place in a Booker's vertical tasting alongside other named batches.

Nº 06

Provenance & Collectibility

The collector's picture

→

Selected by Fred Noe

Seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe — Booker's son — chose the five sub-lots and wrote the batch's story, continuing a line that runs directly back to the man whose name is on the bottle.

Selected once, never repeated

Each named Booker's batch is a one-time selection. Big Easy will not be rebottled; once the run is gone it is gone, which is what drives the collector market for individual batches.

1992

The lineage

Booker's has been the barrel-proof cornerstone of Jim Beam's Small Batch Collection since it reached the public in 1992, distilled by James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky.

The brand set a suggested retail price of $99.99 at release; as the first batch of the 2026 Collection, it is closely tracked by collectors assembling a complete Booker's run.

Collector indexBooker's · 2026-01

Batch: 2026-01 — first of the 2026 Collection
Name: Big Easy Batch (New Orleans)
Age: 7 years, 2 months, and 15 days
Proof: 129.1 (64.55% ABV), uncut & unfiltered
Selector: Fred Noe, 7th-generation Master Distiller
Composition: Five warehouses, five production dates

It joins the barrel-proof bourbon shelves in the Midnight Whiskey vault as a full-strength Kentucky bourbon.

Clermont

Nº 07

Technical Specifications

Whiskey	Booker's Bourbon Batch 2026-01 “Big Easy Batch”
Category	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV / Proof	64.55% ABV (129.1 proof) — uncut and unfiltered, barrel strength
Age statement	7 years, 2 months, and 15 days
Batch	2026-01 — first release of the 2026 Collection
Composition	Five production dates across warehouses G, J, M, H, and O
Maturation	New charred American oak; uncut and unfiltered
Producer	James B. Beam Distilling Co., Clermont, Kentucky
Region	Kentucky, USA
Release	March 2026
Format	750 mL

Booker's does not publish a per-batch mash bill; the whiskey is Jim Beam's standard high-corn Kentucky straight bourbon recipe, matured in new charred oak as the category requires.

Nº 08

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Booker's Bourbon is produced by James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky, as the uncut, unfiltered expression of Jim Beam's Small Batch Collection. For Batch 2026-01, seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe selected five sub-lots from five separate production dates, stored across warehouses G, J, M, H, and O at floors chosen for their ageing effect. The whiskey was matured 7 years, 2 months, and 15 days in new charred American oak and bottled uncut and unfiltered at 129.1 proof (64.55% ABV), with no chill filtration and no added water.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Booker's Big Easy Batch 2026-01?

Booker's Batch 2026-01, the “Big Easy Batch,” is aged 7 years, 2 months, and 15 days — the exact age at the time of bottling. Every named Booker's batch carries a precise age statement down to the day, a tradition that goes back to Booker Noe. This batch sits in the middle of the brand's usual 6-to-8-year window.

What proof is Booker's Big Easy Batch?

Booker's Big Easy Batch is bottled at 129.1 proof, which is 64.55% ABV, uncut and unfiltered at full barrel strength. That lands at the upper edge of Booker's usual 120-to-130-proof range. The brand recommends drinking it neat or with a splash of water to open it up.

Why is Booker's Batch 2026-01 called the Big Easy Batch?

The Big Easy Batch is named for New Orleans, one of Booker Noe's favorite cities. Master Distiller Fred Noe, Booker's son, dedicated the batch to his father's long love of the city's food and culture — from a French Quarter honeymoon to the Lucky Dog street cart Booker sought out on Bourbon Street. It is the first release of the Booker's 2026 Collection.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Booker's · Batch 2026-01 · Big Easy

Shipping information

Adult Signature Required: Federal law requires an adult (21+) with a valid government ID to sign for all deliveries. Carriers cannot leave alcohol unattended.

Processing Time: Most orders process within 1–8 business days. You will receive a tracking number via email as soon as your bottle ships.

Insured Shipping: We strongly recommend electing Shipping Protection at checkout. Midnight Whiskey is not liable for loss or damage once in the carrier's possession unless insurance is purchased.

Restrictions: We ship only within the permitted U.S. states and cannot deliver to P.O. Boxes or U.S. Territories.

All Sales Final: Due to alcohol regulations, we cannot accept returns for change of mind.

Curated For You

Opus One 2022 — Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend, Mondavi-Rothschild Joint Venture Opus One Winery

$429.95

The Macallan Distil Your World London Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Macallan

$5,499.95

Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition (16 Year) Wild Turkey

$999.95

Yellow Chartreuse (Chartreuse Jaune) French Herbal Liqueur — 43% ABV Chartreuse

$109.95

The

The Elemental Distinction