← All Reviews
Home Pour
American (Other)BourbonReviewsWhiskey

Tasting Notes: Booker’s Little Book and Big Book Bourbons

Beam Suntory · Kentucky, USA

Both are well put together. Excited to see how Little Book The Infinite evolves.

Nose

Little Book: Raspberry, plum, peach pie, vanilla, sourdough | Big Book: Cookie dough, cinnamon sugar, vanilla, oak

Palate

Little Book: Vanilla, wheat, graham cracker, cherry syrup | Big Book: Chalk, pie crust, barrel stave, mocha, mint

It seems the folks over at Beam just won’t stop releasing cool stuff! Today, I’m talking about two newest limited editions joining the Beam Small Batch family of brands. From the mind of Freddie Noe comes Little Book “The Infinite” and Booker’s “The Reserves.”

Little Book “The Infinite” — Edition 1

Freddie Noe has described this whiskey as a solera system — this first release will serve as the base for all batches going forward, with each year featuring different whiskies made by generations of the Noe family. This year, it is all Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

  • Booker Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Aged 20 years
  • Fred Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Aged 14 years
  • Freddie Noe’s Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Aged 7 years
  • Shared Family Component: Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Aged 8 years

Appearance: Smoked amber with gold undertones

Nose: Raspberry, plum, peach pie, vanilla extract, soft wheat, sourdough bread

Palate: Surprisingly thin mouthfeel but lots of flavor — vanilla, soft wheat, graham cracker crust, cherry syrup, hints of cola

A nicely balanced bourbon, though it leans more towards vanilla. Excited to see how it evolves over the next few years!

Booker’s “The Reserves” 2024

A marriage of 8 different bourbons ranging from 8 to 14 years across different warehouses and floors.

Appearance: Burnt honey / fossilized amber

Nose: Little to no peanut aroma (unusual for Beam). Mentholated tobacco at first, which fades into cookie dough and cinnamon sugar, followed by vanilla and oak.

Palate: Beautiful chalkiness that dries out the palate — pie crust, barrel stave, loads of mocha, minty undertone

Delighted with this release. Well-put-together blend and thoroughly enjoyable.


Originally published on Wine & Whiskey Globe.