Brian’s Little Book Batch #2 – Noe Simple Task Review
written on 08-June-2019
LITTLE BOOK BATCH #2 – NOE SIMPLE TASK REVIEW:
Just because Little Book Batch #2: Noe Simple Task is born of the skills of Master Distiller Fred Noe and Beam’s Booker distillery, check your bourbon expectations. This is a rye forward whiskey with an appley nose and palate. I found the finish to linger with a leathery, old oak earthiness.
LITTLE BOOK BATCH #2 VITAL STATS:
Category: Blended Whiskey
Produced by Beam-Suntory
Blender: Jim Beam’s Fred Noe
Distillery: Jim Beam and Canadian Club
Whiskey Mash Bills: Unknown malted barley
Components of the blend:
• 8 Year Old, Kentucky 119.8 proof straight rye whiskey
Cask: New Charred Oak (KY rye)
• 13 Year Old, 111.9 proof Canadian rye whisky
Cask: Recharred barrel (CAN rye)
• 40 Year Old, 137.8 proof Canadian whisky
Cask: Ex-Bourbon (CAN blended)
Age: 8 Years
ABV: 59.4% (118.8 Proof)
Unfiltered
Price: $119.95 USD in Idaho
Availability: Allocated, and difficult to find
Learn more at https://beamsuntory.com/
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass.
NOSE:
To the nose, Little Book Batch #2 (LBB2) presents with subtle wine tannins and little alcohol burn. Continued nosing brings an herbalness and fresh picked red apples with plenty of rye spice blending into rye bread. There is only a hint of light vanilla and it is not overly sweet on the nose. The assuredly small percentage of 40 year old Canadian whisky adds a pleasant oldness which couples nicely with the nutty sweetness of roasted peanuts and dry oak sawdust.
PALATE:
The mouth is greeted with a little bite and then a nice warmness takes over. I detected an unusual Citronella candle flavor … but it works. As on the nose, LBB2 wine tannins entertain the palate which expand nicely into wintergreen herbalness. While definitely not a sweet juice, spices of cinnamon, cloves, and rye enhance flavours of red apples and dried figs. There is also a nice rye breadiness which goes well with earthy raw peanuts and subtle barrel char.
Balance, Body, Look, and Feel:
In the Glencairn, small clinging droplets give way to medium wide legs which drop into an auburn and polished mahogany colored bowl. There is a good balance to its medium body and warmness. LBB2 is both light and clean and smooth and pleasant. In the mouth, the whiskey is at once crisp, oily, rich and full.
FINISH:
Little Book Batch #2: Noe Simple Task has a long and lingering, warm finish and the satisfyingly spicy aftertaste of black pepper and rye. The aged Canadian whisky and re-char of barrels give a certain roundness as the earthy leather, old oak and dark honey fade away.
MY RATING: 88/100
Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
For other whiskies with this score, click 88/100.
Click Little Book to read my thoughts on other whiskies in the series from Freddy Noe.
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