In some ways, the Noes are like the royal family of Bourbon. Their legacy goes back to the founding of Jim Beam itself. The distillery’s annual Little Book series is the creation of 8th-generation Master Distiller Freddie Noe. For the seventh entry, Noe decided to reflect a bit on his family’s history through the lens of past Little Book releases. The result is “In Retrospect”, a whiskey that contains a little bit of each of the past six Little Book bottlings. The final list of whiskeys blended to create “In Retrospect” is as follows:
18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
10-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
09-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
05-Year-Old Straight Malt Whiskey finished in Applewood Smoked Barrels
04-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
04-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Little Book Chapter 7 is a deep, dense shade of bronze. It has a rich aroma of buttery brown sugar, complemented by notes of crisp pear and clove. On the palate, the flavors are very dense and complex. The most prominent flavor I find is salted caramel. There’s a slight whiff of smoke, vanilla, dark chocolate, and just a hint of hazelnut. For those who have tried Beam’s Clermont Steep single malt whiskey, the malt whiskey component is very noticeable in this blend, though not overpowering. The mouthfeel is pleasant — velvety, but not overly viscous. The whiff of applewood smoke wafts through the finish as coffee and maple syrup fade into an herbal, almost minty end.
