Kepler Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Interesting choice to compare. I'd rate Booker's higher than Rare Breed because I find it more interesting and complex. And I'm a big Turkey fan, so there. Where I live Bookers is typically $10-15 more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Virginia ABC had Bookers for $60 and Rare Breed for $45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender4 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Kepler said: Interesting choice to compare. I'd rate Booker's higher than Rare Breed because I find it more interesting and complex. And I'm a big Turkey fan, so there. Where I live Bookers is typically $10-15 more expensive. I'd agree to a certain extent, although having a pour at a bar of Booker's kind of diminished it in my book. Maybe I just didn't like that particular batch they carried. Or it could have been the cube I had thrown in (as I didn't want to be "that guy"). I should have known better from my home experiences. I prefer Booker's neat. But the complexity and interest of Booker's kind of reinforces the "mood difference" in taste. Sometimes I want simple, but good quality. So RB would be the choice in that scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 2 minutes ago, fenderbender4 said: But the complexity and interest of Booker's kind of reinforces the "mood difference" in taste. Sometimes I want simple, but good quality. So RB would be the choice in that scenario. I couldn't agree more. A high quality "traditional" bourbon like Rare Breed always works well and doesn't depend on mood. It's the better "daily pour" in that regard. But when rating them head to head as the OP requested, I'll still prefer the one with the higher upside because it delivers the goods for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender4 Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 24 minutes ago, Kepler said: I couldn't agree more. A high quality "traditional" bourbon like Rare Breed always works well and doesn't depend on mood. It's the better "daily pour" in that regard. But when rating them head to head as the OP requested, I'll still prefer the one with the higher upside because it delivers the goods for me. Yeah...if someone were to give me a bottle of either for free...yeah Booker's. For sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 These are interesting takes on the differences. I actually considered a sbs last night. The wife is going or tonight, so maybe tonight. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortre Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Since high proof, quality bourbon is a luxury item, I'm surprised at the number of people who cite the cost difference between Booker's and Rare Breed as a criteria for which is their favorite. If the question was about value, price would be a more important part of the decision. I look at quality, value and availability when deciding on a favorite personally, but we will all have our own criteria. So it's probably good that the OP asked us to answer why we choose as we do. [emoji12] Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 My first ER10 and 4RSmB SBS went well, so: Tiny pours of both. I treated the bookers straight because it was a tiny pour, but I normally add a little ice. The RB I usually drink neat. I agree with what everyone says again. Both are great. Both are different. The bookers had complexity and tons of flavor. The RB stood up even going after the bookers. Side by side it did accentuate that wild turkey funk that I'm not a big fan of, but isn't very noticeable in rare breed. I was drinking from an older bottle of rare breed. It is the 108 proof batch from a couple years ago. I like the newer 112 proof just as much, but for different reasons. The 108 proof seems more subtle, where the 112 is just huge on the brown sugar. To me at least. Of course, now I realize I really need to taste them blind and figure out how I really think about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender4 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 2 hours ago, b1gcountry said: My first ER10 and 4RSmB SBS went well, so: Tiny pours of both. I treated the bookers straight because it was a tiny pour, but I normally add a little ice. The RB I usually drink neat. I agree with what everyone says again. Both are great. Both are different. The bookers had complexity and tons of flavor. The RB stood up even going after the bookers. Side by side it did accentuate that wild turkey funk that I'm not a big fan of, but isn't very noticeable in rare breed. I was drinking from an older bottle of rare breed. It is the 108 proof batch from a couple years ago. I like the newer 112 proof just as much, but for different reasons. The 108 proof seems more subtle, where the 112 is just huge on the brown sugar. To me at least. Of course, now I realize I really need to taste them blind and figure out how I really think about them Thanks for doing it and sharing your thoughts! I do like the fact that both are quality bourbons, higher proof, and also readily available. Usually you can only get 2 out of those 3 if you're lucky. Sometimes none at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 It was a big sacrifice on my part, I tell you... Honestly the Bookers is above my comfort level for proof even though I still like it. My sweet spot is between 90 and 110 most days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldDrinker1978 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 8 hours ago, b1gcountry said: My first ER10 and 4RSmB SBS went well, so: Tiny pours of both. I treated the bookers straight because it was a tiny pour, but I normally add a little ice. The RB I usually drink neat. I agree with what everyone says again. Both are great. Both are different. The bookers had complexity and tons of flavor. The RB stood up even going after the bookers. Side by side it did accentuate that wild turkey funk that I'm not a big fan of, but isn't very noticeable in rare breed. I was drinking from an older bottle of rare breed. It is the 108 proof batch from a couple years ago. I like the newer 112 proof just as much, but for different reasons. The 108 proof seems more subtle, where the 112 is just huge on the brown sugar. To me at least. Of course, now I realize I really need to taste them blind and figure out how I really think about them I absolutely agree with everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebo Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I like both of them but, I'll take WTRB 95% of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuttyFinish Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 1st off if we are comparing bourbons, I don't factor in price, especially if it's only like 15 bucks. With that being said, my thoughts on these 2 is WTRB is one of my favorites, I love everything about it. And bookers, even though I've had a bad bottle, usely never disappoints. Really hard to compare these 2 for me cause they are both top 10 in my book. I know that's no help but, I'd do a pour of each every nite and be just fine with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmossle Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 This isn't even close in my opinion. Rare Breed is the hands down winner. Beats Bookers on price, taste, and quality any day of the week. Not saying Bookers is bad because it most certainly is not. But in most states WTRB is at least $10-$15 cheaper and while it is a little lower in proof, it is nice and smooth and has more depth in flavor than Bookers. Of course this is just one persons option. Do with it what you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 If I was sitting in a bar, and they had both available, I think I'm going with Bookers more often than WTRB. Depends on the mood I guess, but I really enjoy Bookers. I got a lot of sweet chocolate notes there, where WTRB for me is more of a contemplative pour. Both are excellent, and I'm also in the camp of "get both", but if you're really not sure or price is a challenge - get a 50 mL of both and do a blind SBS comparison. Honestly, I avoided WT101 for a bit because the experience of many on this forum at the time was unimpressed (and as many of them had been drinking it for some time, I know understand why they felt that way!) But I did a blind SBS of several whiskies right around 100 proof and found WT101 was my favorite almost every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyfish Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Sometimes I like RB a lot. I always like Booker's a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirstyinOhio Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I'm a huge fan of WTRB. I've killed more bottles of that than anything else. Booker's is good, but I just reach for WTRB all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTNBourbon Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 I like RB over Booker's. Booker's can be hot at times, never had that with the RB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Neat Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Bookers for me. It has a one of a kind flavor, it is complex and has a thick oily mouth feel that WTRB just does not have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigPapa Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 11 hours ago, Scotch Neat said: Bookers for me. It has a one of a kind flavor, it is complex and has a thick oily mouth feel that WTRB just does not have. I have now had both bottles for about a month now. The both are great for different reasons, but overall it's Bookers for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts