It's a bird! Its a plane! It's an American start up craft whiskey product! Wait, no, it's from Beam? Interesting. The name sounds ironically craft. Anyways, it's a blend of different whiskeys of different mashbills, released under Freddie Noe.
Seems like an interesting blend at first and the nose starts off nice, but more air reveals some less desirable notes and the biggest drawback is the heat that is left on the tongue.
This is the first release from Freddie Noe, son of Beam master distiller Fred Noe and grandson of the late Booker Noe himself. It’s an impressive and unconventional debut, as Freddie prepares to continue the Beam legacy.
Mouthful is sweet as a caramel chew with hints of dark fruit and smoke. Luxuriously long finish with sweet fading into leather, oak, pepper, and baking spices.
I’m not totally sure what to make of this whiskey. The sweetness and heavy vanilla/caramel notes make Little Book identifiably Beam, but there’s a new layer of tropical fruit that pushes it in a different direction.
This is certainly an interesting whiskey, one that walks through a number of stages on a circuitous route to its conclusion — and what a curious journey it is! Whatever the verdict on Little Book Vol. 1, it’s definitely a whiskey to watch as it (and Freddie) evolve over the years to come.
In a world where craft producers are usually the ones tinkering with experimentation (and usually the bad kind) I think its interesting to see Beam get on board with a release like this. I think it has potential.
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House Review
Nose:
Caramel, vanilla, toffee. Faint young grain, new make. Mild ethanol, confectioners sugar.
Taste:
Medium mouth feel, really mellow despite the proof. Caramel and toffee are big here, with lots of rich buttery vanilla and pepper. The new make note is here also, faintly in the background.
Finish:
Short, sweet, but the buttery sweetness persists.
Overall:
This is an interesting product. Its a polarizing product. I personally enjoy it, but the new make note is 100% worth noting. It's there. This has some real young components in it and they show. I'd love to try this with just a couple more years of age on it. I think it could be really great. In a world where craft producers are usually the ones tinkering with experimentation (and usually the bad kind) I think its interesting to see Beam get on board with a release like this. I think it has potential.
Score:
85
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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