Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation

Classic Booker’s packaging - kicked up a notch. The wooden box resembles something like a #4 char (as opposed to the stained wood of typical Booker’s boxes). A fancy tag and medallion let you know the additional $30-50 above Bookers q4 month releases is a sign of something unique. Or is it? Full disclosure here, I love Booker’s for its unrestrained heat and bold, sweet brown sugar notes. Little Book 4 was my bourbon equivalent of Johnny Walker green label - a unique blend that could very well be greater than the sum of its parts. This blend is a bit less unique and represents the beginning, middle and end of bourbons aging with a bit of malted rye thrown in. I’m expecting some chocolate or coffee notes as a result. The color is a nice amber-orange and fire practically ruses from the glass. The aromas evolve over time. At first I would swear this is 9y Knob Creek. Then it opens up and some rye notes and interesting fruity aromas find their way in. Cherry, mint, allspice, brown sugar, oak, toasted marshmallow, dried cranberry, hibiscus tea. Slightly syrupy, building heat, cinnamon churro, dried fruits, vanilla cream, pralines, sweet tobacco. The finish is long and a bit of mint and tea sneak in that I suspect come from the malted rye. I might get the faintest cacao note but could be making it up. I might mistake this for a solid batch of Stagg Jr but just slightly more tame. Slightly. But the flavor is there in spades. There is a nice toasty marshmallow and herbal kick that Stagg Jr lacks. I would put this up there with a solid JD barrel strength or ECBP as well. It is, for better or worse, more complex than Bookers. The strong nose, big palate and long finish make this hard to love, but is it worth the extra $30-50? In a practical sense, is Bookers worth $80-90 for you? If the answer is yes, then $120-130 for this is likely an easy yes. If you find Booker’s to be overpriced and lacking in complexity then you will likely enjoy what this adds to the Booker’s mix but the price is hard to swallow. Not intending to spiral into a VFM rant here but with plenty of $130-200 offerings out there I think many would agree that some are worth it - others are absolutely not. I consider Kentucky Owl Confiscated at $125 to be inferior to this, as would 14y Sam Houston. This is probably on par with $175 Four Gate Split Stave and also cheaper, but hotter (which some will not like). Compared to a Bardstown Discovery around $125-150, those I would say have been better for the same or slightly more money. With ECBP creeping up to $85 in some markets it is still a clear VFM winner, but also becoming more of a PITA to find. Then the mini-unicorn that is Stagg Jr at $65-85 if ever seen or $125+ on the secondary and again this bottle of Little Book seems to have a decent VFM standing once again. Here is the kicker. Beam will now mail me a bottle of this. No hunting, just have to live in KY (or maybe DC) and they’ll ship the damn thing. That I find impressive. While living in KY is a huge Bourbon perk the idea of to-your-door service from the distiller… that is seismic and has larger implications than most of what I have written above. While this setup is likely to face legal challenges (apparently Biden is lobbing the idea of ending state-regulated alcohol control and even the three-their system) I will take advantage of a bottle of delicious bourbon, gifted to KY, and drink to the bewildering industry that is whiskey. Cheers to the Noe family on this shake up!

Seeing Chapter 6 popping up on shelves, I figure now is as good a time as any to review Chapter 5. I missed Chapter 1, but loved 2-4. Chapter 5 a blend of four Kentucky whiskies: -2 year old bourbon -3 year old rye malt -5 year old bourbon -15 year old bourbon At 58.4%, I believe this is one of the lower ABV chapters. Let’s get into it. Nose: Big-time peanut brittle, cocoa, and brown sugar. Caramel, vanilla, and almond. Cherry, cola, and orange rind. Black tea and cigar smoke. Sawdust. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Chewy caramel and cacao nibs. Peanut brittle and almond. Toffee, vanilla, cola, and carrot cake. Cocoa. Peanut butter. Dried apricot. Woody/sawdust notes. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and heaps of oak. Finish: Cherry. Walnut, chestnut, cashew, peanut brittle, and almond. Cocoa and caramel. Golden raisin. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. Long finish. This marks another superb chapter in the story of Little Book. Oof. That’s corny. Speaking of which, this essentially drinks like a high-rye Booker’s. Bourbon-forward with some of those rye-malt notes adding to an already great profile. Chapters 2-4 were all great whiskies, but to be fair to them, they were all cheaper than this one. Overall, I’d say this pulls its weight in the VFM department at $150. Specifically, the nose and finish are out of this world. Well done, Jim Beam. 5/5.

The nose comes off very much like a jim beam whiskey. Oak, nuts and a little mint. Palate: Right away the burn is very manageable for a almost 60% abv and i get some youthfulness as well. Very dry and not all that sweet. Finish: finally some nice charred oak from the older barrels in this blend with bitter cherry flavors that continue towards the end of the sip and the spiciness only comes around at the finish. After a few sips I have to say this is my least favorite Little Books of the five I have tried so far. Not very complex and it has astringent notes on the finish that are kind of off putting that I think come from the malted rye of the blend. After every sip, I keep lowering the score on this bottle. Lets revisit this in a few months to see if my tastebuds are more forgiving.

Light copper/dark straw color. Bonus points for the amazing packaging, of course. Nose is absolutely massive: christmas candies, burnt sugar, butter cookies, notes of mint and rosemary, some barn must, baking spice, vanilla and fresh oak. Soft and sweet despite the proof, the spices and dry oak hit then yield to vanilla, shortbread cookies, peanut brittle, creamed corn and a hint of honey. Alarmingly drinkable for the proof. Finish really takes it's time and although warming and herbal, it shows remarkable balance and all of the right stuff comes through. This is my favorite of the series so far.

The nose starts with a strong burst of oaky pepper, roasted nuts and corn, cooked brown sugar, cherry syrup with the freshness of mint rounding it out. The palate is rich and chewy with pepper and rye lighting up the mouth alongside a wave of oak, cooked brown sugar follows with cherry syrup with a hint of maple sweetness. The finish is long spicy that keeps you chewing and the corners of your mouth tingling. A slight astringency develops but is not unpleasant as it is balanced out with a fading creaminess.

NOSE Coppery herbal, caramel, hay, honied graham cracker, touch of olde candy, overripe fruit and peanuts. I feel a similarity in delivery to Book 1, but this is a bit darker. More peanuts and copper as it opens/with water. PALATE Oak, copper, caramel icing, herbal spice, leather, hazelnuts, peanut brittle and bits of overripe fruit, vanilla candy and leather. A bit dry and tannic on its delivery, but everything about what’s delivered is nice. FINISH Long -> Herbal spice, caramel, oak all fade