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Booker’s vs New Riff Single Barrel
Put Booker’s next to New Riff Single Barrel and you have an uncut, high-rye heavyweight set against a contemporary, high-rye craft build.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Booker’s | New Riff Single Barrel |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon, Barrel Proof | High-Rye Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley | 65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley |
| Age | 7 years +2 yr | 5 years |
| Proof | 125 proof (62.5% ABV) +20 proof | 105 proof (52.5% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$85 – $110 | ~$55 – $70 ~$35 less |
| Availability | Limited | Widely available easier to find |
- Booker’s does not publish an official mash bill.
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Booker’s
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
New Riff Single Barrel
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Booker’s New Riff Single Barrel
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
nuttiness 8/3 nuttiness: Booker’s 8 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 3 out of 10
sweetness 7/4 sweetness: Booker’s 7 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 4 out of 10
heat 10/7 heat: Booker’s 10 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 7 out of 10
spice 7/9 spice: Booker’s 7 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 9 out of 10
oak 8/6 oak: Booker’s 8 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 6 out of 10
fruit 4/5 fruit: Booker’s 4 out of 10, New Riff Single Barrel 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Nutty, grain-driven character is the divider.
- Booker’s: Uncut, unfiltered Beam at batch strength, and the most concentrated expression of the house peanut-and-oak character. Enormous and hot, with a finish that goes on well past where you expect it to stop.
- New Riff Single Barrel: The single-barrel expression of New Riff's 30% rye mash, non-chill-filtered and at higher proof than the bonded version. As dry and peppery as bourbon gets before it stops being bourbon.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Booker’s if you want the Beam house style at full power and you have water on the table with more proof behind it and with an older age statement.
- Go with New Riff Single Barrel if you want the most aggressively spice-driven bourbon in this list, with single-barrel variation on top at a significantly lower price point.
Best enjoyed neat (Booker’s); neat, old-fashioned (New Riff Single Barrel).