Little Book Chapter 8: Path Not Taken Review

For many enthusiasts, Booker’s Small Batch Bourbon is a must-have in their collection. It demonstrates the distilling and maturation prowess of Jim Beam and is somewhat easy to get even for people who are new to drinking bourbon. While “Booker’s” is Jim Beam’s way of honoring legendary Master Distiller Booker Noe, “Little Book” is Freddie Noe’s way of honoring his granddad.

When the concept of Little Book first came out, I think that most enthusiasts hoped it would be a sort of “Booker’s+.” In reality, the brand was always meant to showcase the experimental side of Jim Beam. Those experiments have always involved blending different kinds of whiskies together in very unique ways, so it was kind of a disappointment to many diehard bourbon drinkers.

It wasn’t until the third release – named “The Road Home” – that bourbon purists had their wish granted. That release blended together aged stocks of all the bourbons Beam made (including Basil Hayden/Old Granddad) to deliver a a bourbon that brought together all of the best parts of Jim Beam distilling. On a personal note, Chapter 3 has been one of my favorite releases to come out of the Little Book line.

But it all felt like such a tease because the next 3 releases saw a return to strange blends using strange whiskies (rice bourbon, malted rye whiskey and malt whiskey for example). Most enthusiasts I know began to check out from the label and bottles would actually set on the shelf for a while at most retailers.

Chapter 7 was a comeback, but Chapter 8 gives us hope for a bright future

I’ll admit, I was one of those enthusiasts that turned my back on Little Book – then Chapter 7 was announced and it felt like redemption. Yes, there was still some of that hardwood-smoked malt whiskey in the blend, but it was a small amount. The rest of the whiskies guided the profile more towards a ryed bourbon than the previous batches had done.

The specs on Chapter 8 read like a dream. Freddie experiments with the overall profile of each batch, but he’s never guided one to be so rye-forward before. That all changed with the Path Not Taken. Even the hang-tag is green in color as a nod to the rye-forward nature of this bottle

Rye Whiskey. Rye Whiskey everywhere

Five types of rye whiskies are used along with Beam’s “High Rye” bourbon recipe. If you didn’t know already, that would be the Basil Hayden/Old Granddad mash bill 63% corn, 27% rye and 10% malted barley. Supposedly, this recipe could be the one which uses a low distillation proof (127 proof) and a low barrel entry proof (115). The other components are:

11-Year Kentucky straight rye whiskey – this recipe is likely the standard Beam rye whiskey recipe that’s used in Old Overholt, Knob Creek and Jim Beam rye whiskey brands.

7-Year Kentucky straight rye malt whiskey – this is likely the same rye whiskey used in the new Basil Hayden Malted Rye.

5-Year “Kentucky family-style” rye whiskey – the strange wording on this recipe likely means this is a rye whiskey that hasn’t been released by itself yet. The strange wording on this may indicate it’s an entirely new recipe, so perhaps it is the barrels of (future) Booker’s Rye?

5-Year “Pennsylvania family-style” rye whiskey aged in Char Level 1 barrels – this is the mash bill used in the new A. Overholt release from earlier this year. Also, Char Level 1 is super light compared to other Beam releases.

5-Year “Pennsylvania family-style” rye whiskey aged in Char Level 4 barrels – same as above, but aged in heavily charred barrels.

4-Year Kentucky straight rye whiskey – there’s no cryptic wording on this one, so we can probably assume this is the standard Beam rye whiskey recipe.

Beam never gives us any sort of ratios or percentages on the blend, so it’s up to your tongue to decide which direction the final blend goes. The pessimist in me says that the younger ryes are the most plentiful in the blend. But Beam has really been upping their game lately in terms of quality and value. Still, I’m going to take a shot at this and see what I think about the final product. So here we go! I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: If you were expecting to smell a rye whiskey, this won’t let you down. There are tons of fresh rye bread scents along with gingerbread (heavy on the clove). What really impressed me is the amount of fruit scents I’m picking up on. Tangerines, poached orchard fruit and mince pie seem to borrow heavily from the PA-style rye and the older 11-year rye whiskey. There are some more mature notes lurking around which seem to point towards the 18-year Old Grand-Dad bourbon in the blend. I hope that Beam recognizes that a higher rye content makes a more interesting whiskey.

Palate: There is a flavor explosion similar to most rye whiskies. Herbal notes are everywhere and they are all accompanied by spice notes of fennel, clove, cinnamon, ginger roots and anise (licorice). And no, I didn’t forget about the sweetness, because this bottle has just enough corn influence to contribute some caramel alongside the slight taste of molasses.

I found a balanced amount of oak notes on the tongue. This is great because it adds maturity and depth to a whiskey that’s already bursting with flavor. Fruit notes are plentiful, just like they were on the nose and include raspberry jam, orange peel and cherries. There’s even a bit of crushed walnuts and pipe tobacco. One final note I’ll throw in is just how thick and rich of a mouthfeel this has. I went on to drink the new Barrell Bourbon Batch 036 immediately after this and was surprised at how thin it tasted compared to Little Book.

Finish: The perfect amount of heat accompanies all of the flavors on the finish. Herbal notes remain and are a refreshing reminder of all the rye that this whiskey is blended with. Juicy fruit notes also linger as well as a nice amount of rye-forward notes. The finish is very long lasting which shouldn’t surprise me for how rich it tastes.

Score: 8.7/10

This is one of the best Little Book releases I’ve ever had. This also comes close to being one of the best Jim Beam releases I’ve ever had as well. You can either take that with a grain of salt or – if you’re like me – accept that all components used in this whiskey are really well made.

I have fallen hard over the recent explosion of Bouryes around the American Whiskey landscape and can’t get enough of them. Path Not Taken is technically a Bourye after all, and it’s showcasing why blends like this have a bright future. It mingles together the best flavors that Beam has to offer.

Each sip is infinitely more complex than any of Beam’s standard bourbon recipes while also being more well-rounded compared to their standard high-corn rye whiskey recipe. It’s about time that one of the big Kentucky distilleries started to take rye whiskey seriously again. I just never thought it would be Beam leading the charge.

Final Thoughts

Unless there is a rapid explosion of affordable, great products being released by other distilleries this year, you can count on Little Book Chapter 8 being on my annual “Top 10 Most Memorable Whiskies” of 2024. This bottle is a flavor bomb that I can’t really find a fault with. It’s rare that any Little Book release gets everything right, but here we are.

I encourage anyone to run out and find this release right now. If you’re a lover of rye whiskies, this will be your jam. If you’re strictly a bourbon drinker, this has enough bourbon flavor to compliment the intensity of spice and fruit. And Beam, if you’re reading this, please invest more time and energy into rye whiskey and high-rye products and less on malt whiskey. This bottle is the perfect example that you’ve got a winner on your hands.