Jim Beam’s Latest Whiskey Took Three Generations to Make

Even if you don’t know whiskey, you know James B. Beam, aka Jim — the name behind one of the world’s best-selling bourbon brands, not to mention Knob Creek, Basil Hayden and Booker’s.

But if you do, you know that the James B. Beam Distilling Co. (despite being owned by Suntory) maintains the hallmarks a family-run operation. Eight generations of master distillers have overseen the whiskey making over the years.

Though the distillery might tell you that every family member has played a role in making its various whiskeys what they are, it really means it when referring to the latest concoction.

That’s because The Infinite, a new offshoot series from the Little Book brand started by eighth-generation master distiller Freddie Noe (the great-great grandson of Jim Beam), uses bourbon from barrels laid down by three generations, going back to the early 2000s.

Little Book

New Release

Little Book ‘The Infinite: Edition 1’

• $200 at Little Book

Expanding the Little Book brand

The Little Book brand is named after the nickname given to Freddie by his grandfather and sixth-generation master distiller Booker Noe. It started in 2012 as an annual release of one-of-kind whiskeys.

Bottles under the label sit toward the upper end of James B. Beam Distilling Co.’s offerings, and are rarer and more limited in nature than Jim Beam and even Booker’s.

James B. Beam Distilling Co.

Every Little Book release, called Chapters, is “blended by Freddie and bottled uncut and unfiltered in honor of his grandfather,” Little Book says.

Now a new series, named The Infinite, will run concurrently to the normal Little Book chapter bottles, which are typically released in September (but moved up to May for 2024).

All in the family

If the normal Little Book releases are guided, first and foremost, by novelty, The Infinite starts with tradition.

Edition 1 features multiple whiskeys ranging from 7 to 20 years old, each laid down by a different member of the family.

The first comes from Booker Noe, who led the distillery from 1929 to 2004. It was aged 20 years and gives the whiskey notes of oak, char and smoke, the distillery says.

James B. Beam Distilling Co.

Freddie’s father, Fred Noe, a seventh-generation master d, also contributed. His component was aged 14 years and lends notes of dark fruit, cherry and brown sweets, according to the brand.

Lastly, Freddie’s personal component was aged seven years and carries notes of caramel and vanilla. A fourth whiskey, which Little Book calls a “shared family component,” was aged eight years.

“My father and I are lucky enough to work together, side by side as Master Distillers, and I know he always dreamed of that with his own father, my Grandaddy Booker,” Freddie Noe says. “This new series pays tribute to that dream.”

Pricing and availability

Like the Little Book Chapters, ‘The Infinite: Edition 1’ will be distributed nationwide, albeit in very limited quantitates. It has a suggested retail price of $200 and an ABV of 59.65 percent.

If you miss out on this year’s release, or need to time to warm up to the inevitable upcharge by retailers, Freddie Noe has committed to an annual release schedule, though timing and details remain TBD.

“Once a year, I’ll bottle some up for the world to try,” he says. Cheers to that.

Little Book

New Release

Little Book ‘The Infinite: Edition 1’

• $200 at Little Book

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