Booker's The Reserves 2026 Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (125.1 Proof)

Price

$229.95

✔ Sourced as an authentic, sealed product
✔ Inspected before it ships
✔ Packed with padded, glass-rated handling

Age: 6 years, 2 months, 23 days | Region: Kentucky | Proof: 125.1

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125.1

Proof

62.55%

ABV

6yr

2 mo · 23 days

Rye

Kentucky straight

750mL

Bottle

2026

Third release

Booker's The Reserves 2026 is a Kentucky straight rye whiskey from James B. Beam Distilling Co., aged 6 years, 2 months and 23 days, finished in apple brandy barrels, infused with cinnamon and bottled uncut and unfiltered at 125.1 proof (62.55% ABV). It is the third release of The Reserves, the annual series eighth-generation master distiller Freddie Noe began in 2024, and its idea comes from A.B.C. Wassail, a Noe family apple wine.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

A rye in a bourbon series. After two bourbon releases, The Reserves turns to Kentucky straight rye for its third edition in 2026.

Apple brandy barrels and cinnamon. The straight rye was finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon. In the release, Freddie Noe describes it as rye “aged in apple brandy casks with some cinnamon sticks for added character.”

Aged to the day. The strip label gives the age as 6 years, 2 months and 23 days rather than a rounded statement.

125.1 proof, 62.55% ABV. Bottled uncut and unfiltered, the standard James B. Beam Distilling Co. sets for every Booker's expression.

Drawn from a family wassail. Freddie Noe based the release on A.B.C. Wassail, an apple wine Booker Noe's family made; the wine's apples and cinnamon return in the rye as apple brandy barrels and a cinnamon infusion.

Freddie Noe's annual series. Freddie Noe, the eighth generation of the Beam family to serve as master distiller, introduced The Reserves in 2024 as an annual, limited-release series commemorating his grandfather; 2026 is its third release.

Nº 02

A.B.C. Wassail

The family recipe behind the rye

Booker Noe, the Beam family's sixth-generation master distiller, picked out the first bottles of Booker's as holiday gifts for friends and family, and every Booker's expression is bottled uncut and unfiltered. He also kept a family tradition of making A.B.C. Wassail, an apple wine whose recipe calls for apples, cinnamon and bourbon barrels. His grandson Freddie Noe created The Reserves “to continue the legacy of my grandaddy, Booker Noe,” and for the series' third release he turned to that wassail, calling the result “a very Reserves take on his recipe”: a Kentucky straight rye finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon.

Nº 03

The Reserves by Release

2024 · 2025 · 2026

2024 · First release

An 8- to 14-year-old bourbon

Drawn from eight production dates across eight warehouses and bottled at 125.9 proof.

2025 · Second release

Finished in El Tesoro tequila barrels

A Kentucky straight bourbon aged 8 years, 10 months and 11 days, finished in barrels that had held Booker's 30th Anniversary bourbon and then El Tesoro's 85th Anniversary tequila, and bottled at 123.3 proof.

2026 · Third release

Rye, apple brandy barrels and cinnamon

A Kentucky straight rye, 6 years, 2 months and 23 days old, finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon; bottled at 125.1 proof.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Bright apple, sweet caramel and subtle seasoned oak lead the nose in the brand's description of The Reserves 2026. On the palate come charred oak, vanilla and caramel, balanced by delicate cinnamon.

Strategic Position

The Reserves is Freddie Noe's once-a-year Booker's release, and no two editions so far have been the same whiskey: the 2024 bourbon that opened the series, a tequila-barrel bourbon in 2025, a cinnamon-infused rye in 2026. Set against Booker's thirteen-year rye of 2016, bottled at 136.2 proof, it is the younger and finished counterpart; set against the 129.1-proof first U.S. batch of Booker's 2026 collection, it is the year's Reserves edition, beside Booker's regular batch line.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

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What the label records

The strip label carries the class line, the age to the day and the strength — 6 years, 2 months and 23 days; 125.1 proof, 62.55% — while the front label states 750 mL and repeats the uncut, unfiltered rule.

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Release

Released in September 2026 — a year after the 2025 edition reached shelves the same month — and on retailers' shelves nationwide by the middle of the month.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Series: The Reserves · third release (2026)
Class: Kentucky straight rye, apple brandy barrel finish, cinnamon-infused
Age: 6 years, 2 months, 23 days
Strength: 125.1 proof (62.55% ABV), uncut & unfiltered
Master distiller: Freddie Noe, eighth generation
Released: September 2026

This bottle sits in our American rye collection, from Sazerac 18 to Michter's.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Producer	James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Brand	Booker's · The Reserves 2026, third release
Class	Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon
Age statement	6 years, 2 months, 23 days
Proof	125.1
ABV	62.55%
Bottling	Uncut and unfiltered
Cask / Barrel	Finished in apple brandy barrels
Region	Kentucky
Master distiller	Freddie Noe
Release	September 2026
Format	750 mL

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Made by James B. Beam Distilling Co. as a Kentucky straight rye whiskey, the release was finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon — cinnamon sticks, in Freddie Noe's account — then bottled uncut and unfiltered at 125.1 proof. Its age statement, 6 years, 2 months and 23 days, is printed on the strip label beside the strength.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Booker's The Reserves 2026 a bourbon or a rye?

Booker's The Reserves 2026 is a rye: a Kentucky straight rye whiskey finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon, made by James B. Beam Distilling Co. It is the third release of Freddie Noe's Reserves series, whose 2024 and 2025 releases were both bourbons.

What proof is Booker's The Reserves 2026?

Booker's The Reserves 2026 is bottled at 125.1 proof, which is 62.55% alcohol by volume. Like every Booker's release, it goes into the bottle uncut and unfiltered.

How old is Booker's The Reserves 2026?

Booker's The Reserves 2026 carries an age statement of 6 years, 2 months and 23 days. That makes it younger than the two earlier Reserves releases: the 2024 bourbon drew on whiskeys aged 8 to 14 years, and the 2025 bourbon was aged 8 years, 10 months and 11 days.

When was Booker's The Reserves 2026 released?

Booker's The Reserves 2026 was released in September 2026, a year after the 2025 edition, and reached retailers nationwide that month. It is the third annual release of Freddie Noe's Reserves series, which began in 2024.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault The Reserves 2026

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Booker's The Reserves 2026 Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (125.1 Proof)

The Reserves 2026

The Elemental Distinction

A.B.C. Wassail