| Whiskey | Little Book Infinite – Edition 2 (2025 Release) |
| Distillery | Jim Beam |
| Region | Clermont, Kentucky |
| Type | Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | Undisclosed |
| Proof / ABV | 120.4 Proof / 60.2% ABV |
| Aging | While undisclosed – Edition 1 was a combination of whiskeys ranging from 7-years all the way up to 20 year Booker’s bourbon |
| Filtration | Non-Chill Filtered |
| MSRP | $200 |
| Release Year | 2025 |
Little Book - The Infinite Edition 2 Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Golden Honey
Nose: Toasted oak, rich vanilla, caramel, toffee, chocolate, notes of peanut, red fruits, citrus, cinnamon spice, leather, tobacco, baking spice
Palate: Rich bold caramel backed by a lovely balance of charred oak, oaky tannic spice, vanilla, red fruits, hints of citrus, and full of rye spice, leather, tobacco, black pepper, and a hint of peanut
Finish: Bold rich finish that is quite full with a nice oily mouthfeel that lingers for well over 30 seconds – leaves you with a rich caramel, charred oak, and spice notes with lingering fruit and pepper notes
What is the Little Book Infinite Series?
The Little Book Infinite series is a new product series from James B. Beam Distilling Company.
It is the project of Freddie Noe who is an 8th generation in the Beam/Noe master Distiller for the family.
He created this series as a tribute to his grandfather Booker Noe who started the Booker’s lineup back in 1988 and called it Little Book because his grandfather called him by that nickname when he was a child.
The lineup is designed to be uncut and unfiltered representations of three generations of whiskey from himself, his father, Fred Noe, and his grandfather Booker Noe.
The idea is that it will be a perpetual, evolving blend that uses whiskeys from previous generations as the foundation (Edition 1) and then each year new whiskey will be added to the blend to evolve over the years.
Edition 1 of Little Book Infinite included the following whiskeys:
- Booker Noe’s component: 20 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Fred Noe’s component: 14 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Freddie Noe’s component: 7 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Shared Family Component: 8 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
I’m sure many of you have created your own “Infinity Bottles” where you keep a few ounces from the end of your bottles and combine them together to create an ongoing and evolving blend of your own creation.
Freddie is building on this trend and creating an ultimate Infinity Bottle from the wide range of Jim Beam and Booker’s bourbon barrel collection to create a fun new experiment that will evolve over the next decade as a yearly release.
I’ve always been a fan of the Booker’s lineup and the Little Book Chapter series, so I’m excited to jump into this one and see how it tastes.
So with that, let’s crack this bottle open and see how it is!
Is Little Book The Infinite - Edition 2 an Approachable Whiskey?
Little Book Infinite Chapter 2 is actually quite approachable despite being 120+ proof.
I was expecting it to be quite hot and spicy, but it is a lot smoother and more refined which is a nice surprise.
Granted, it’s still 120 proof so it may be a bit much for beginners to whiskey, but if you’re a fan of bourbon and especially cask strength bourbon, you’re going to really enjoy this one.
Is Little Book The Infinite - Edition 2 Complex?
Little Book Infinite Chapter 2 is quite complex and offers a lot of depth of flavor.
As I’m sipping on this pour, I’m comparing it against the Chapter 1 release from last year and I definitely think the Chapter 2 is more complex and also more balanced and refined.
On both the nose and palate, you get rich caramel, charred oaky tannic spice, and bold vanilla which is what you would expect from well-aged Jim Beam and Booker’s barrels.
However, in addition to those traditional flavors, you also get a nice balance of rye spice, rich red fruits, and nice earthy leather, tobacco, pepper, and hints of Jim Beam peanut.
Comparing to the Chapter 1 release, it is much smoother and still contains many of the core flavors from the original batch which is a great sign for this Infinite series.
The idea is to create a continuously evolving blend of whiskeys that improves with each addition and from what I’m experiencing with this bottle, I think that is exactly what has happened.
Also, the finish on this bottle is extremely nice.
It’s rich and oily so your entire palate is coated with flavor and the finish last well between 30-60 seconds and is full of bold rich flavors.
What are Little Book The Infinite - Edition 2’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Little Book Infinite Chapter 2’s strongest attribute is that it is an experimental whiskey blend that Freddie Noe is taking a risk on by trying something new.
I can always appreciate someone who likes to push the boundaries of what has always been done and branch out into something new that may create a new experience for both the Master Distiller’s but also us as customers.
When my dad and I visited the Jim Beam Distillery we got to participate in a special tasting for Jim Beam’s release of Clermont Steep which was their new American Whiskey and was launching at the same time.
We were excited when we heard we would get to be tasting with both Fred and Freddie Noe in a small group of 8.
I learned so much from how Fred and Freddie explained their thought processes and how they were always trying to push whiskey forward.
While we were tasting, one of the samples we got to try was an experiment where Freddie Noe was testing making whiskey with brown rice instead of rye grain.
I was fascinated that this is an experiment they would do, but also quite shocked at how good it actually tasted.
After the tasting, Fred and Freddie hung out with us and answered a ton of questions and seemed genuinely interested in spending time with us and hearing our thoughts about the brand.
So when I saw Freddie launching this new Infinite Blend series, I was not shocked and this seemed like exactly the fun kind of experiment he would find fun and create an interesting product lineup for us as fans of the brand.
Is Little Book The Infinite - Edition 2 a go-to whiskey?
Little Book Infinite Chapter 2 is tasty enough that I wish I could drink this as a go-to whiskey.
Unfortunately, it is a limited release and on the pricy side, so this is one that I will reserve for special occasions, to share with friends who know their whiskey, and as a comparison in the future each time a new bottle in the series is released.
Is Little Book The Infinite - Edition 2 priced accurately to its quality?
It is very difficult for me to state whether this bottle is priced accurately to its quality.
For me, the bottle is worth the $200 because I am fascinated by the experiment of creating an official “infinite bottle” of bourbon from one of the biggest names in bourbon.
The quality is excellent and while yes, $200 is very expensive for a bottle of bourbon, it’s more a question of whether you are the type of person to enjoy the process of making whiskey, seeing how bottles evolve, and being part of the whiskey experiment.
Even without the fun of the experiment, the quality of the whiskey is on par with many other $150-200 bottles like the original Little Book series, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged, and Elijah Craig 18 year.
Conclusion for Little Book The Edition - Chapter 2 (2025 Release)
The Little Book Infinite Series sits conceptually closer to a solera than a sour mash – but it’s not either one.
Where a solera continuously marries liquid in the barrel, Freddie Noe’s Infinite carries over a portion of the previous blend into each new edition, preserving its lineage in the bottle.
Infinite is the blend-as-legacy idea taken literally – a whiskey whose DNA grows a year older with every release.
Overall, Little Book Infinite Chapter 2 was a pleasant surprise for me.
$200 is a bit above my comfortable price range for a bourbon and I’m always quite cautious about buying bottles at this price.
However, after tasting the bottle, I was impressed with the flavors and in particular, I really enjoyed how smooth and refined this bottle was while still being 120+ proof.
It’s easy to find cask strength whiskeys with bold flavors, but it’s not often than you find a refined whiskey with all the flavors but not all of the heat.
That’s what sells me on this bottle.
If you’re a fan of bold flavors and high proof with low heat, this may be a bottle for you.
Also, if you’re a fan of Booker’s, Little Book, or just Jim Beam bourbon in general, you are going to enjoy this bottle.
It is one of the best that I have tasted from them and it convinced me that this Little Book Infinite series is on it’s way up over the next decade.
I’m fascinated by Freddie Noe’s quest for improvement and I think he is helping drive the brand forward in both flavor and strategy, so I’m excited to see how this series evolves and to keep you updated with reviews as it progresses.
If you see this bottle on the shelf and give it a shot, let us know what you think!
0 Comments