Brown sugar | Cinnamon | Eucalyptus | Agave | Fresh mint | Vanilla | Tobacco | A touch earthy

Caramel | Cinnamon | Light citrus | Light grapefruit | Thyme | Earthy

Dry seasoned oak | Rye spice | Black pepper | Dark fruits | Quick drop off in flavor | Lingering notes of seasoned oak & spicy cinnamon

The Booker’s brand is known for its uncut, unfiltered, no-nonsense sip. While Booker’s offers slightly different flavor profile variations from batch to batch, the whiskey is built on a sturdy base of flavors. Last year’s introduction of The Reserve, a new limited edition sub-brand of Booker’s, was an impressive display of blending. Many expected the follow-up release to be more of the same, continuing the focus on expert blending. That’s not to say the 2025 batch isn’t without blending merit. Though the decision to finish Booker’s Bourbon for the first time was a completely unexpected move, it’s the decision to finish in tequila barrels that is perhaps even more surprising.  

These aren’t your typical tequila barrels either. They started as bourbon barrels, where they aged Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon, which was released in 2018. They were then shipped to Jalisco, Mexico, and used to age El Tesoro Tequila’s 85th Anniversary release (also a Suntory brand). Finally, the barrels were returned to Kentucky to use for this year’s The Reserves batch, which underwent 11 weeks of finishing in these barrels.

It’s a fair statement to say that tequila-finished bourbon hasn’t truly caught on with consumers like other finishes have. Some claim it simply can’t be done, as tequila’s native fresh, vegetal, and earthy notes, as well as flavors of agave and acute citrus, generally don’t meld well with bourbon’s heavy vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and oak flavors. While some see that as a fruitless endeavor, others like Beam’s 37 year old master distiller Freddie Noe, see untapped potential.

This year’s Booker’s The Reserves has a surprisingly tempered and restrained aroma for its proof. Light brown sugar and cinnamon combine with gentle tequila scents of eucalyptus, agave, and fresh mint, before ending on vanilla and tobacco. The aroma also hints at the earthiness to come. The palate begins with a burst of caramel and rye spice, then transitions to light, tequila-inspired flavors of citrus, grapefruit, thyme, and agave. They remain light overall, but give off a noticeable amount of earthiness. The finish introduces dry seasoned oak, before ramping up the spice level. A mix of dark fruits comes aboard but is quickly dropped off, as the overall flavor of the finish declines rapidly. Light lingering notes of seasoned oak and spicy cinnamon remain.

It’s clear that the 2025 edition of Booker’s The Reserves was designed to keep its tequila influence in check, but in a way, it’s also somewhat noncommittal. Given the friction between bourbon and tequila flavors, going light was probably the best way for all of the flavors to play nice with each other. The tequila finish isn’t transformative, but it injects just enough unique flavors into the traditional Booker’s flavor profile to keep things interesting. It’s not necessarily a better whiskey because of it, but in this case, a little bit of uniqueness goes a long way. Booker’s is a traditional bourbon at heart, and this batch certainly takes it out of its comfort zone. This will also be true for many people who drink tequila-finished bourbons for the first time. Beam’s decision to go with a light finish over a heavy one results in a tequila-finished bourbon that many will be able to enjoy, but few will genuinely love.