Little Book Bourbon Review Archives

Brian’s Little Book Chapter 3: The Road Home Review:

reviewed 10-May-2022

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD HOME BOURBON REVIEW:

Little Book Chapter 3: The Road Home (Little Book 3) is a near perfect pour for those of us who love high proof heat. Its nose, palate and finish balance with the essence of soft apples, robust baking spices, and leathery depth which fade in and out as the pour is enjoyed. But be forewarned, this bourbon blend drinks hot. As a pre-pandemic release, Little Book 3 will be hard to find, but if I were to see it on the shelf at or under $225, I would bring it home for a special evening treat.

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD HOME BOURBON VITAL STATS:

Category: Straight Bourbon
Region: Clermont, KY, USA
Distillery: Jim Beam
Company: Beam Suntory
Master Distiller: Freddy Noe, 8th Generation Beam Family Distiller
Blend Overview:
9-year-old Knob Creek Bourbon
9-year-old Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
11-year-old Booker’s Bourbon
12-year-old Baker’s Bourbon
Mashbill: Blend of 77% Corn, 13% Rye, and 10% Malted Barley (Knob Creek, Baker’s, and Booker’s) and 63% Corn, 27% Rye, and 10% Malted Barley (Basil Hayden’s)
Recipe: 51
Casks: New charred oak
Barrel Chars: #4
Barrel entry proofs: 125
Age: 9 years old
ABV: 61.3% (122.6 Proof)
Release Date: September 2019
Purchase Price: $124.95 USD (2019 – Idaho)

LABEL INSPIRATION:

_{“The Road Home” batch pays tribute to my grandfather as the name Little Book is actually the childhood nickname that he gave me. And so I thought after having a couple of chapters under my belt that it would be a great time to pay honor to him and blend some of the liquids that he gave the bourbon industry.}
_{The four liquids that I chose to go into this batch of Little Book^® are from the original small batch collection that my grandfather, Booker, created. The Road Home is a blend of nine year old Basil Hayden^®, nine year old Knob Creek^®, 11 year old Booker’s^® and 12 year old Baker’s^®, and as always with Little Book^®, these liquids are at barrel strength and will be bottled at barrel strength as well. The name “The Road Home” references the road that I travel to and from on a regular basis, the same road my grandfather, Booker, traveled back when he used to work here at the distillery.
^{— Freddie Noe, 8th Generation Beam Family Distiller}}

Click Little Book to learn more.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

Taken from the newly opened bottle, the first one and a half ounces mixed with the bourbon in our Infinity Bottle Project. Then, by alternating the pours, four once review amounts went into two Glencairns. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat as we prepared this review.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD HOME NOSE:

Little Book 3 has one of the hottest noses I’ve had in some time. My nose tingles with the strong ethanol presence. It takes time to acclimate, but even then care is needed. As I work my way around our Flavor Wheel, I pick up faint apple blossoms, sweet corn and sense undefined stone fruit as well as acidic citrus. But there are plenty of baking spices … I get cinnamon, ginger, green pepper, rye and yeasty notes as one might smell in warm apple pastry lightly dusted with cocoa powder. There is vanilla here too, which blends with the aromas of caramelized sugar and orange blossom honey drizzled over finely chopped pecans. Best of all are the woody elements – plenty of dry seasoned oak, hazy barrel char and for added depth some old leather.

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD HOME PALATE:

Little Book 3 is warm bordering on hot with quite an alcohol bite. The fruit tree blossoms sensed on the nose come through as do the sweet corn, faint soft apples, and now some apricot and I can feel citric acid. And like on the nose I can taste the cinnamon, ginger, rye, and black pepper. And in keeping with the baking theme, the flavors of apple pastry infused with rich vanilla and caramelized sugar fade in each sip as do the woody notes of seasoned dry oak, hazy barrel char and the added depth of leather.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Little Book 3 is well balanced from the nose to the finish. Somehow the added heat works here and is welcome. Could it be the influence of the high rye barrel proof Basil Hayden? The first sip is prickly on tongue and challenging to hold. When I set the Glencairn down, a curtain of liquid coats the inside of the glass before breaking into long clinging legs to transport the dregs back to the dark, old oak colored pool. Left behind is a well defined inverted crown.

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD HOME FINISH:

Little Book Chapter 3: The Road Home has an exceptionally long, bordering on almost hot finish. It bites at the back of the tongue as it slides into the throat. Each sip tries to give a Kentucky Hug, however I am fortunate to have enjoyed many high proof bourbons. As I rest between sips, I sense roasted corn, soft apples, apricots and acid. The baking spices of cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper come through as well as do bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, caramel and dark molasses. The balance continues, as seasoned dry oak, hazy barrel char and the leather flows through the finish. And as I finish the last drops, fresh cut oak wafts from the empty Glencairn.

MY RATING: 92/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

To access other whiskeys awarded this score, click 92/100.
Click Little Book to read my thoughts on other whiskies in the series from Freddy Noe.

WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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Hannah’s Little Book Chapter 3: The Road Home Review

Original review written May 10, 2022

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

A complex, fruity, spicy burn that’s high proof and from one of my favorite distillers. Happy to have this pre-pandemic gem open at last. 97/100

VITALS:

Little Book Chapter 3 The Road Home Review

– Made In: Clermont, Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Blend of Jim Beam Bourbons
– Blend Overview:
9-year-old Knob Creek Bourbon
9-year-old Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
11-year-old Booker’s Bourbon
12-year-old Baker’s Bourbon
– Age: 9 yrs.
– Mash Bill: Blend of Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10% (Knob Creek, Baker’s, and Booker’s), and Corn=63%; Rye=27%; Malted Barley=10% (Basil Hayden’s) – Recipe 51

– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proofs: 125
– ABV: 61.3% (122.6 proof)
– Release Date: September 2019
– Price: $124.95 USD in Idaho 2019

Visit https://beamsuntory.com/ for more information

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the spirit neat from a Glencairn glass with sister, as well as father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

Might be a little brisk, and there might be a chilling mist keeping you from seeing far into the distance, but I imagine The Road Home would fit well on this kind of path. Old, gnarled trees keep you company and offer walls to lean on, rather than poke and jab you for coming too close. The Road Home is about the journey, after all, and while unconventional and perhaps not immediately desired, this Road Not Taken is refreshing and wild all at once.

Photo by Adarsh Kummur on Unsplash

NOSE:

This is a fruity, spicy Booker’s at first inhale. Dark fruits, like grapes and figs are everywhere, but the burn from the alcohol is rough in a way only a Jim Beam product can be. There’s a distinct toffee essence, with nuts dominating, but I can find a chewy, fudgy caramel. The spice, while definitely peppery, links up with an old, gnarly oak to offer some immediate depth and richness. Along with that wood is a musty leather and earth component. It’s old, dusty, and has just a touch of grain mixed in it. While there are those sweet aromas, it’s these darker, earthy, spicy alcohol tones that overwhelm the nose the more it continues to breathe. Complex, dark, spicy – that’s about what I’d expect from a Jim Beam nose.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: Raspy and textured, this settles into the taste buds, especially at the back of the palate where it burns more potently.
– Balance: Solid. I like the spice chasing the fruit, and with a deep oaky foundation, I feel more like a bystander than an active participant. The bourbon doesn’t really need my involvement with chews, or holding it, to taste good and complex.
– Visual: Old oak in color, this leaves behind an almost perfect inverted crown, complete with clinging droplets that fall slowly in thick legs back into the glass.

– Taste: I can hold this on the palate for longer than I would have expected to originally, but that bite does settle in the more it sits. When it moves across the palate for tasting, fruits like figs, dried cherries, and partially baked, tart apples meld with an almost burnt caramel that both adds sweetness and a hint of bitter. Following the fruit, is a grassy element that eases some of the burn that comes at the back of the palate, and boy, is this necessary. The grass fights off more than just the alcohol too – locating anything pepper or rye and trying to choke it out like a fire without oxygen.

Nevertheless, the alcohol is harsh, and a Kentucky chew makes the whole mouth burn and tears come to the eyes. Knives of pepper go through the tongue like stakes covered in thorns. NOT a pleasant experience, but the spices do wake up even more, showcasing cinnamon and allspice. Oak and prunes and raisin are there on the coming-down; they don’t take away the heat, but they distract you from the pain of the chew somewhat.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Very long. The heat lingers and lingers and lingers… and lingers. A Kentucky hug is most certainly possible with this pour. Some flavor does linger, but it’s about the heat.
– Between Sips: Oak with dark vanilla and grain mix together between sips, remaining complex even here in the finish.

– No More: Sweeter flavors emerge the longer I sit with this bourbon. Simple syrup, caramel, and vanilla grow ever stronger, still backed by the alcohol warmth and emerging allspice first noted on the Kentucky chew.

The empty Glencairn is a spicy oak, with lots of harsh burn remaining and pepper. It’s warm and complex, and a great finish to a great pour.

WORTH THE PRICE?

$125 is a big ask, but if you see Little Book (I’ll go so far as to say any chapter*), it’s a fun edition to have to the bunker, and given their rarity and originality in mash bills and blends… It’s a no-brainer. If it was regularly available, perhaps I wouldn’t pay this much for it, but it’s fun to splurge every now and then, and this is a bourbon worth splurging on.

*Though you will not find it in my Whiskey Reviews section, I have had and thoroughly enjoyed Chapter 2 from Little Book. As I have equally enjoyed many Booker’s products already. Click here to read Dad’s review of Chapter 2, and remember, I LIKED IT TOO!

LITTLE BOOK CHAPTER 3 THE ROAD HOME REVIEW RATING: 97/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

To access other whiskies with this rating, click 97/100.

Click Little Book to read my thoughts on other whiskies in the series from Freddy Noe.

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