Little Book The Infinite is Back With Another Multi-Generational Bourbon Blend

Last August, James B. Beam Distilling unveiled The Infinite, an extension of its sought-after Little Book series that put the focus on family—blending bourbons made by three Beam master distillers, including Freddie Noe, his father Fred, and his grandfather Booker. The inaugural release was well received, scoring 91 points with our tasting panel, and the distillery promised that other multi-generational blends were on the way. Each new entry would include some of the liquid from the previous batch. Now the second batch, called The Infinite Edition II, has been released.

Edition II’s recipe starts with some liquid from Edition I—itself a blend of four straight bourbons, including a 20 year old distilled by Booker, a 14 year old made by Fred, a 7 year old distilled by Freddie, and an 8 year old that Fred and Freddie worked on together. Freddie then blended this component with three other bourbons. The first one was distilled by Booker: an ultra-aged 22 year old that Freddie says contributed oak, smoke, and char. Next came a 10 year old from Fred, which Freddie claims added vanilla, caramel, and dark stone fruit. Finally came Freddie’s own component: a 7 year old that, thanks to an extended fermentation, was filled with bright notes of apple and pear. The distillery hasn’t disclosed the ratio of these components.

The Infinite Edition II was bottled at 60.4% ABV, coming in just slightly higher than last year’s release at 59.65%. It’s currently available nationwide in limited quantities, with a suggested retail price of $200.

The Little Book series has been around since 2017, with new batches, identified by chapters, releasing annually. The most recent mainline release, called Chapter 9: None For Granted, launched in July. The series typically showcases master distiller Freddie Noe’s skill in blending multiple whisky styles, with bourbon often being the main star alongside malt whiskey, rye, Canadian, and others. The Infinite project has been somewhat more traditional in that, so far, it has exclusively blended bourbons. The only mainline Little Book expression to ever do that was the 93-point Chapter 3: “The Road Home”, which mixed bourbons from several Beam sister labels, including Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Baker’s, and Booker’s.