Booker's
Clermont, Kentucky
Uncut, unfiltered, straight from the barrel at roughly 125 proof. Batch strength varies. The heaviest chemistry load of any bourbon on this list by a wide margin.
- Filtration
- Unfiltered
- Aging
- New charred oak, typically 6 to 7 years, uncut
- Mashbill
- Corn 77%Rye 13%Malted barley 10%
- Congeners
- Very High
- Histamines
- Moderate
- Polyphenols
- High
- Sulfites
- Very Low
- Tannins
- High
- Sugar
- Low
- Additives
- Very Low
- Calories
- 153
- Sugar
- 0g
21.9g ethanol at 62.5% ABV. No sugar, so every calorie here is alcohol.
In its favor
- ✓No additives, no filtration, no water
- ✓Batch age and proof printed on every bottle
What to watch
- !Around 125 proof, so a standard pour is a double by ethanol
- !Unfiltered, so the full congener fraction stays in the bottle
- !Highest hangover index in the category
Factor by factor
Congeners Very High ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Moderate ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols High ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Very Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins High ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Very Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Booker’s is the honest extreme of the category and it is on this list precisely because it anchors the top end. It is bottled uncut and unfiltered at whatever strength the barrels came out at, typically somewhere between 60 and 65% ABV, with the exact figure printed on each batch. The 62.5% recorded here is representative rather than fixed.
Two things compound. Chill filtration, which most bourbons undergo, removes some fatty acids and esters; skipping it is a flavour decision that leaves more of the congener fraction in the glass. And barrel proof means a 1.5oz pour delivers about 56% more ethanol than the same pour of an 80 proof bourbon, so a drink that looks identical on the bar is a substantially larger dose.
None of that makes it a badly made whiskey. It is a very good one. It is simply the worst-case pour on a page that ranks by what your body has to clear, and it should be measured accordingly rather than poured by eye.
Booker's questions
How many calories are in a shot of Booker's? ▾
About 153 calories in a 1.5oz shot at 62.5% ABV. All of them come from the alcohol, since there is no sugar.
Does Booker's have sugar? ▾
No. Booker's has 0g of sugar per 1.5oz serving.
Is Booker's gluten-free? ▾
Not by label. Booker's is distilled from rye and barley, so US rules bar it from claiming gluten-free. Distillation does remove the gluten protein, and the Celiac Disease Foundation considers distilled spirits safe for most coeliacs. If you would rather avoid the question, pick a spirit distilled from corn, potato, grape or agave.
What is Booker's made from? ▾
Booker's is made from a mashbill of 77% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted barley with unfiltered.
What proof is Booker's? ▾
Booker's is 125 proof, which is 62.5% alcohol by volume.
Does Booker's give you a bad hangover? ▾
Booker's scores 9/10 on the SpiritFacts Hangover Index, against 7/10 for bourbon overall. The main drivers are its congeners, polyphenols and tannins.
Is Booker's vegan? ▾
Yes. Booker's is listed as vegan, with no animal-derived ingredients or fining agents.