Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation

Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation is the fifth release in Jim Beam’s curated collection from Eighth Generation Beam Master Distiller Freddie Noe.  “The Invitation” invites tasters to explore interesting blends, ages, and flavors in the evolving world of whiskey.  The blend is meant to highlight the diverse influences that have influenced Freddie Noe’s journey and and shaped his style as a distiller.  The results are nothing short of being fantastic, as the Little Book Chapter 5 has ranked number 3 on Fred Minnick’s Top 100 American Whiskeys of 2021.

Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation

Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation is a blend of 2 year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 3 year-old Malted 100% Rye Whiskey, 5 year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 15 year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon.  The final result comes in at 116.8 proof.

Sight:  Chestnut – Oloroso Sherry

Smell:  The nose is an evolutionary experience with Little Book, changing gradually over the time you leave it in the glass.  On first pour, there was a heavy dose of peanut and charred oak.  After opening, the nose explodes with juicy caramel, brown sugar, rich toffee, peanut brittle, and a jammy cherry.  As the nose continues to open, there are elements of charred oak, cigar box, toasted spices, black tea, maple syrup, warm vanilla, and a touch of almonds.  Despite the proof, there’s not a lot of heat.

Sip:  The body opens smooth and then warms up slightly.  The flavors of preserved cherries and warm vanilla laced caramel come through.  Touches of brown sugar and molasses open the door to almond brittle and notes of grape.  The oak influence kicks in, adding elements of cigar spicing, roasted sugar, baking spice, and tobacco.  Elements of black tea and a slight fruit funk jump in and compliment the light spicy sweetness.

Savor:  The finish pulls through the creamy brown sugar and caramel elements with a healthy dose of spice.  Roasted oak and spice goes through with a hint of burnt marshmallows.  The finish lingers beautiful, layering in more wood and sweet sugar notes.

Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation is simply incredible.  The flavors are layered, complex, and intricate.  The sweetness of the caramelized notes is pervasive, but evolves constantly at Little Book continues to open.  The fruit notes are present enough to give it variety, while the nuttiness and wood make up all the in between notes.  The result is an incredible whiskey to simply savor over hours.

In Cocktails

Let’s start with the obvious, you’re not buying this bottle make cocktails.  To a certain extent, there’s probably some group that would argue putting this in a Manhattan or Old Fashioned is sacrilege.  All that said, if you own one, it’s your bottle, and you should enjoy it as you see fit.  So here’s what I think of it in the one Manhattan I made.

Is it a good Manhattan?  Oh god yes.  Is it 3-4 times better than a $30 – $50 bottle of whiskey?   No, not even remotely.  You’d have to be out of mind to be making Manhattans or Old Fashioneds with it.  The flavor is explosive with juicy cherries, spiced oak, and caramel.  The notes of nuts and black tea are absolutely present, and it fights with some of the herbal character of the vermouth, explaining to pretty much every other element in the drink that is the superior element.  The spicing and brown sugar flavors are so intense that it actually manages to pull off the same length of finish it does in the Glen Cairns glass.

To date, this is the most expensive Manhattan I’ve ever made, and was delicious.   I do not however recommend you use Little Book for this purpose.

In Review – Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation

Little Book Chapter 5: The Invitation is one of the best whiskeys I’ve ever encountered.  This sort of bottle is obviously not a stock it and keep it around for making drinks sort of thing, but it is an incredible offering if you can manage to find it.  One of those, words-fail-you sort of offerings that you keep for special occasions.  Even at $125, there’s a lot of value here and you should try it if you get an opportunity.