Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 93 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 59.65% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $199.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-10-15 |
Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1 Review
As the eighth-generation master distiller at Jim Beam, Freddie Noe has a lot of legacy behind him. But he’s clearly got designs on paving his own road, and the often good (sometimes truly great) Little Book series is an annual showcase of both Beam’s innovations and Noe’s blending acumen.
We’re about to get a lot more of that, as Little Book is adding another annual release to its lineup. Dubbed “The Infinite,” the new Little Book will build upon an initial blend of whiskeys featuring components laid down under the guidance of Freddie Noe, his father Fred Noe, and grandfather Booker Noe.
While Little Book often includes a variety of whiskey types in each release, this initial blend of The Infinite is all Kentucky straight bourbon, with ages ranging between seven and 20 years.
- Booker Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 20 years
- Fred Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 14 years
- Freddie Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 7 years
- “Shared Family” Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 8 Years
A portion of this core batch was held in reserve to form the base of subsequent releases. In the coming years, subsequent Little Book: The Infinite editions will build upon this core blend with additional liquid streams.
Let’s see how the newest Little Book — and first in this particular series — stacks up!
Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1: Stats and Availability
Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1 carries a suggested retail price of around $200. It’s available in limited quantities at Beam’s Clermont, Kentucky, distillery, as well as retail outlets across the U.S. We don’t have an exact bottle count for this release.
Little Book bottlings have been climbing a bit in recent years when it comes to potential retail and secondary markups. I’ve already seen The Infinite hover a bit above MSRP in places, but it’s not commanding clear multiples of MSRP.
Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1 Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
At this point, I’m very used to Little Book releases containing multiple different styles and types of whiskey. So I need to remind myself we’re diving into a blend of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys here.
And it’s classic Beam on the nose, with both younger and older components all bringing something to the table here. Corn pudding and a semi-herbal (cooked thyme and a hint of rosemary) notes waft out of the glass, an early nose akin to some of the Kentucky-style rye whiskey Beam produces under various labels. But right after those rye-adjacent, slightly younger notes comes a big burst of oaky caramel, the older bourbon steering things in a dryer and more tannic direction. Roasted nuts underpin both sides of the coin, a familiar Beam hallmark that never quite rises to primary billing here.
There’s impressive balance here. The middle ground between the sweet/green and sweet/tannic influences results in rich cooked fruit preserves, like roasted peaches with a few herbal sprigs tossed in for good measure.
Taste
Nuts weren’t dominant on the nose, but the first sip is rich in lightly salted peanut butter; it’s creamy and coating, with a hint of minerality that dances back and forth across my palate. Dark fruit — heavily sweetened cranberry sauce — brings both sweet and tart notes with the second sip.
That note of roasted peanuts never quite fades to the background, even as other flavors ramp up. Cinnamon-laden sugar cookie builds along the midpalate, components of both vanilla and spice speaking more perhaps to the lengthy barrel influence than the base distillate. As with some Booker’s Bourbon expressions, a little mesquite-infused BBQ sauce sneaks up, both sweet and spicy with smoky wood flavors expanding a bit beyond the traditional oak.
It takes a few sips, but both fruit (peach, red apple) and herbal (sweet green mint) make their presence known toward the back of the palate.
One minor critique: The flavors aren’t quite as bold as I was hoping for at certain junctures, and especially along the midpalate, I would have welcomed a bit more punchiness. That said, the fact that this Little Book sips below its 119.3 proof might allow for more nuance overall.
Finish
The finish is probably my favorite part of Little Book: The Infinite; it’s a deep caramel sauce with plenty of vanilla bean and toasted white bread tossed in for good measure. There’s again a nice balance between sugar and wood here, along with a gradual decrescendo of spice and heat.
Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1 Rating
93/100
Recap
Previous Little Book releases have explored new and sometimes experimental territory for Beam. This inaugural The Infinite release is more of a pitch down the middle for Kentucky’s largest bourbon producer. It’s a very good representation of Beam’s flavor profile in a blend that marries the pros of both younger and older bourbon, mostly without a hitch. I hope Freddie Noe gets a lot of latitude when it comes to adding additional whiskey to the blend, because this is a great base to build upon.
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