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:
– 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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