Bakers 7 - Single Barrel
$69.99
Bakers 7 – Single Barrel Bourbon
Serial: # 000502632: Warehouse: CL-Y
Proof: 107
Age: 8 Years, 2 Months
Distillery: James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Mash: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley (Unverified)
Bakers Bourbon
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: First initial nose I get fruit. A combination of apples and bananas. Kind of like the banana Runts. If I really get my nose in there and you can get the charred oak and some sweet notes on the back end.
Taste/Palate: Unlike the nose I get spice upfront on the initial taste. Pepper and oak. There’s a brief transition to some more complex flavors of toasted oak. I didn’t get too much sweet out of this and was minimal on caramel and vanilla.
Finish: The product site gives an indication that there’s a medium to long finish on this bourbon. I respectfully disagree. I get a short to medium finish leaning more to short. I do pick up some additional oak and caramel on the finish.
Verdict: Given the prices of bourbon these days I don’t think that $69.99 is off base. If you’re more into spicy ryes this one is probably more up your alley. It’s not too complex, but it has some good marketing going on. See the story below for marketing comments.
The Story: Not too much of a story on this bottle for me personally. I tried Bakers 3 years ago when it was of the blended variety. They now within the last couple years transitioned to the Single Barrel offering. When I tried the blended version I thought it was ok. I was a little disappointed in the bar that charged me $12 for a 1.5oz pour (in rural IL, not a major city mind you). When I heard they were doing single barrel I wanted to revisit. As it happens its now more difficult to find. I was able to find this bottle close to home here in Michigan so I had to give it a whirl. PS it’s named Baker 7 (after Baker Beam descendent of Jim Beam) and the “7” is the minimum it will age prior to joining this lineup.
The real story here is the marketing. While making this review I always try to verify what I can on the product site. I came across a very fun web page. The Bakers site (linked above) gives you a lot of information about the product, but also has an area for you to enter in the information on your specific bottle. They give the exact location it was housed, the temperatures it endured, and a lot of other fun info. It’s worth a gander. If you don’t have a bottle of your own you can enter the information on the bottle that I reviewed for the experience. Also, on the page it gives flavor profiles. The Bakers profile for the bottle I reviewed was screenshot from the site I just described and included below.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Solid. It hit all of what’s expected.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Reviewer: David S
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