Whiskey of the Week: Little Book Chapter 10: “All The Wiser”

Though his title is technically master distiller at Beam, Freddie Noe pours a lot of time and energy into the art of blending. It’s a passion he shares in common with his late grandfather, legendary Booker Noe, who overhauled Jim Beam’s blending style back in the day by selecting barrels from various rickhouses and floors to bolster flavor consistency between batches. As Freddie has played a larger role in production over the years, his blending skills have been on display across several high-scoring expressions like Knob Creek Bourbon X Rye and Blender’s Edition, and the recently reformulated Jim Beam Black.

The Little Book series, which launched in 2017, puts the spotlight squarely on Freddie’s creativity as a blender. The series is named after Freddie’s childhood nickname, given to him by Booker. New batches or “chapters” are released every year, each characterized by a recipe that includes different mashbills, ages, and sometimes whiskey styles. (Two years ago, Freddie created a spin-off collection called Little Book The Infinite, a solera-inspired blend that combines liquid distilled by three generations of Beam master distillers—Booker, Fred Noe, and Freddie.) Achieving the right balance is a tough tightrope to walk, but Freddie has proven himself more than up to the task: the series has never scored below 91 points, with most falling within the 93–95 range. The latest batch, which was released last month, is yet another home run.

A New Approach

“All the Wiser” represents the 10th chapter of the main series. This expression includes six bourbons from one of several Beam labels. The oldest one is a 14 year old from Basil Hayden—an entry-level brand that isn’t especially known for its big age statements. That whiskey is joined by two parcels of Knob Creek, one aged for 11 years, and the other 9. Next comes a notably old Booker’s, clocking in at 10 years old compared to the brand’s typical 7 years. There’s also a 9 year old from Baker’s, a very underrated single barrel label that often goes overlooked compared to its more prominent stablemates. All of these well-aged ingredients are rounded out by a 4 year old Jim Beam bourbon that was double-finished in toasted bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The final product was bottled at 61.3% ABV.

Freddie says he took a very different approach to blending this year’s edition, which focused more on letting the base whiskeys lead him through the process rather than bending them to fit a desired profile. “Back in the beginning, I looked at blends differently, focusing on percentages and perfection,” he explains. “But I found something else to be just as important: an instinct to listen to the whiskey. Because no matter how sure I am of the profile I want to get to, the whiskey has plans of its own.”

It seems like an interesting philosophy, but that approach created a blend that’s markedly different from many of its predecessors. Chiefly, Chapter 10 is a bourbon-only blend, which is sort of a rare sight for the Little Book line, which has historically melded bourbon with rye, Canadian, malt, corn, and other styles. In fact, the only other mainline release to exclusively focus on bourbon was Chapter 03: “The Road Home,” which, like Chapter 10, included Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Booker’s, and Baker’s, albeit with different age statements. Little Book The Infinite has also gone in that direction so far, hewing closer to tradition than the main series.

Though it's the youngest by far, the cask-finished Jim Beam is arguably one of the more interesting components in the blend. Toasted barrels are a somewhat uncommon sight at the distillery, prominently featured in Basil Hayden Toast and sometimes popping up in limited releases like Jim Beam Winter Reserve and an inaugural Jim Beam Distiller’s Share batch. Sherry casks are rarer still at Beam, with the only prominent example being the third batch of Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece, which was finished in PX sherry casks and released in 2013.

With the inclusion of the cask-finished Jim Beam, Chapter 10 is the third Little Book batch to ever experiment with cask finishing. The first batch to include cask-finished liquid was the aptly named Chapter 06: “To The Finish,” which focused on the process through cherrywood and maplewood stave finishing, as well as applewood-smoked and hickory-smoked barrel finishes. Those applewood-smoked barrels made a comeback the following year for Chapter 07: “In Retrospect,” the highest scoring in the series to date, at 95 points, and was named our No. 4 Whisky of 2023.

How Does Little Book Chapter 10 "All The Wiser" Taste?

93 points—Little Book Chapter 10: “All The Wiser” Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 61.3%
SRP: $160
Availability: Nationwide

This greets you with sweet and powerful aromas of melted caramel, toasted marshmallow, cherrywood, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sugar. Chocolate lovers should brace themselves before sipping, with fudge Popsicles and chewy double chocolate-chip cookies leading the palate, along with oak, warming cinnamon, nutmeg, cherry, and chopped peanuts. Even more chocolate emerges on the long and complex finish, joined by vanilla milkshake, leather, black cherry, and subtle baking spice. The flavors are great, but the velvety texture truly brings the whole experience together.

Little Book Retrospective

As Freddie Noe celebrates his 10th Little Book chapter, we take a look back on the rest of the series.

92 Points—Chapter 1: "The Easy," 60.2%, $80

A blended straight whiskey that aimed to deconstruct a traditional bourbon mashbill through blending.
Components: 13 year old corn whiskey, an almost 6 year old high-rye whiskey, a nearly 6 year old American single malt, and 4 year old bourbon

93 Points—Chapter 2: “Noe Simple Task,” 59.4%, $100

Inspired by a trip Freddie took to Beam’s distilleries in the Great White North, this blended whisky combines Kentucky and Canadian whiskies.
Components: 40 year old Canadian whisky, 13 year old Canadian rye, and 8 year old Kentucky rye

93 Points—Chapter 3: “The Road Home,” 61.3%, $125

Little Book’s first blend only using straight bourbon.
Components: 12 year old Baker’s, 11 year old Booker’s, 9 year old Knob Creek, and 9 year old Basil Hayden

94 Points—Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored,” 61.4%, $125

A blended straight whiskey created in honor of Freddie’s dad, master distiller Fred Noe.
Components: 9 year old rye, 7 year old bourbon, and 4 year old brown rice bourbon

Not Rated—Chapter 5: “The Invitation,” 58.4%, $125

The three youngest components in this blend were distilled under Freddie Noe’s guidance.
Components: 15 year old bourbon, 5 year old bourbon, 3 year old malted rye, and 2 year old bourbon

Not Rated—Chapter 6: “To The Finish,” 58.725%, $125

Little Book explores the world of finishing with this blend of straight whiskeys.
Components: 5 year old unfinished bourbon and four separate parcels of 4 year old malt whiskey finished with cherrywood or maplewood staves, or in barrels smoked with applewood or hickory.

95 Points—Chapter 7: “In Retrospect,” 59.05%, $150

An archival blended straight that includes component whiskeys from all six of the previous chapters, plus a new one.
Components: 18 year old bourbon, 17 year old bourbon, 10 year old bourbon, 9 year old bourbon, 5 year old applewood-smoked barrel-finished malt whiskey, 4 year old bourbon, and 4 year old rye.

91 Points—Chapter 8: “Path Not Taken,” 59.01%, $150

This blended straight whiskey put rye in the spotlight, with Freddie setting out to examine the style’s roots and future with stocks from Jim Beam and Old Overholt.
Components: 18 year old high-rye bourbon, 11 year old rye, 7 year old rye malt, two parcels of 5 year old Pennsylvania-style rye , 5 year old Kentucky-style rye aged in No.-4 char barrels, and 4 year old rye.

94 Points—Chapter 9: “None For Granted,” 60.9%, $160

Freddie aimed to capture what he calls the “founding flavors” of American whiskey with this blend of straight whiskeys.
Components: 11 year old bourbon, 8 year old rye, 8 year old brown rice bourbon, and two different 7 year old bourbons, one of which was fermented for 5 days and barreled at a lower entry proof.