Little Book Chapter 6: To the Finish

2-5 were all winners for me. Can’t remember which was my favorite, but maybe I’ll go back and check when I get done tasting this to see how installment 6 stacks up. I won’t bore you with the details of the barrel staves used, but the short story is that the theme here is stave experimentation that combines 4 4-year old malt whiskies and a 5-year old bourbon. Nose: Sawdust, pipe smoke, rye spice (interesting, because rye should be extremely low in this blend.) Kettle corn. Baked apple. Dried apricot. Almond. Green apple Jolly Rancher and Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Nail polish. Pumpkin spice. Malt, toffee, vanilla, and honey. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. A ton of notes, but some of them don’t mesh quite well. It’s a bit too sweet, but maybe this just needs time to open up. Palate: Cherry. Cola. Caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and fudge. Maple bacon. Tangy BBQ sauce. Green Apple Jolly Rancher. Peach and sweet tea. Spearmint and wintergreen. Dried apricot. Some plum, date, fig, and raisin. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Cocoa, black tea, pipe smoke. Caramel, toffee, malt, fudge, vanilla. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long a finish as they make ‘em. I can say without reservation that this was the least impressive installment of Little Book line besides 1 and 7 which I’ve yet to try. It feels young. Disjointed. Too sweet at times. This is also the first malt-dominant expression I’ve had from Beam, and it hasn’t yet become their forte. I know it sounds like I’m tagging on this one. It’s actually a pretty solid whiskey. The diversity of notes kept me on my toes and made for an interesting experience. The heat was respectable but not a turn off either. There were plenty of good qualities to report on with this one. I said earlier that I’d go back and check to see how this stacks up against 2-5. No need. I know those all were 4 stars or above. I’m going to keep this at 3.5. Back with a second bottle about a year and a half later. Same profile, wildly different experience. It’s because the profile is coherent here. It felt like that last bottle never opened up and this one has blossomed despite the latter having been open for a shorter time before reviewing. Its very unusual to find such a wide margin between two bottles from a limited release like this one. This particular review comes in at a 4.5. I’m going to average the 2 at 4.0 and I suppose I’ll have to commit myself to a rubber match-bottle if I can find one.

So, this Little Book Chapter 6 is comprised of the following: 4-yr Straight Malt Whiskey Finished with Cherrywood Staves 4-yr Straight Malt Whiskey Finished in Applewood Smoked Barrels 4-yr Straight Malt Whiskey Finished in Hickory Smoked Barrels 4-yr Straight Malt Whiskey Finished with Maplewood Staves 5-yr Kentucky Straight Bourbon I’m not sure if it’s just me, but those age statements don’t seem compelling enough to justify the $125 MSRP that they appear to be priced at. Thankfully I was given a sample of this by a friend and am able to find out for myself. The nose starts with a youthful acetone, maraschino cherries and burning hickory wood then cocoa powder dusted stale almond cookies followed by Granny Smith apples, dehydrated apricots and lemon zest that transitions to light baking spices with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy orchard fruits and espresso that quickly veers towards an ashy bitter spice that slowly fades to flinty minerality and freshly lit pipe tobacco followed by Granny Smith apples, dehydrated apricots and lemon scented disinfectant that transitions to light baking spices with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with burnt pine cones, used espresso grounds, lemon scented disinfectant, sour cherries, flinty minerality and pipe tobacco. No, no, no!!!! This is truly awful and tastes like a new craft distillery that is experimenting and struggling to find their way. The nose has a mild astringency along with sour fruits, light smoke and stale sweets that has a glimmer of hope on the taste starting sweet with a light bitterness before pummeling my taste buds with a mini forest fire of heat and ashy char that then fades to sour fruits and metallic notes that finishes with what I can only imagine the vengeance of a rampaging Smokey Bear on smokers in a forest would be by shoving burnt pine cone ashes, forest floor dirt and hand sanitizer down their throats. This certainly doesn’t justify that $125+ price tag for me and seems that it’d only sell for that due to the hype received from the previous Little Book products which will hopefully have less influence going forward if Beam continues down this road of releasing young blends for premium prices.

Nose: Prunes, figs, dates, tea, tart cherry Palate: Sweet, spicy, slight bitterness. Can't exactly pin-point the unique flavors. Tea? Pepper? More figs carried over from the nose? Definitely a nice dose of "smokey" — which I love in my bourbon. Finish: Long, spicy, warm chest hug. This is no run of the mill Bourbon. It stands out from many others I've had — for better or for worse. I guess you'd consider it "complex". I've seen this going for $300+ on secondary market sites. This is very good, but there's no way I'd pay that much for ANY bottle. Fortunately for me, this was a Christmas gift purchased at SRP — which I'd say is justified. 1/29/23: Licorice!

Bright and vibrant, lightly tarnished brass in color. Nose is loades with layers of smoke. Its not all smoke, and not totally overwhelming though. Sifting through the smoke, there's definitely hints of apple hand pies and ripe stone fruit and something earthy/herbal going on. Its loosened up a little with a few drops of water, yet retains a good deal of the heat that rises shortly after a sip and lasts well into the finish. There's a subtle and wonderful malt character that brings me back for another taste It's really a quality product and enjoyable... the nose and flavor profile are just not what im looking for if i'm going to pony up the cash.

Very mild nose. Had a hard time picking a nose. I get an Apple note, but having a tough time picking up much more than that. Maybe a touch of raison. Zero ethanol which is great for a 117 proofer. Taste is very good, but it’s lacking and brings down the overall experience for what could have been an outstanding bottle down to very good. Had a hard time drawing out distinguishing notes on the taste. No regrets on the buy and will taste again soon. Finish is outstanding…warming and long. A bit of a tea note coming through.

To start I'll say Freddie Noe's taste notes on the bottle were pretty spot on. The nose is interesting with malt and char, but overwhelming sweetness. It reminds me of a very bold Irish whiskey. On the palate it's smooth, rich, and sweet caramel with just the right amount of spice and char. The finish is long and warming. It drinks like an older whiskey. As I stated on the nose it's like a very bold Irish whiskey, I think that holds true through the palate and finish.