Review: Little Book Blended Whiskey Chapter 6: “To The Finish” (2022)

Beam’s Little Book release for 2022 arrives as another very unusual blend, this time incorporating a bourbon and four straight malt whiskeys, each with a different finish, some quite unusual. What’s in the bottle? Here’s the breakdown of the blend:

4-year-old straight malt whiskey finished with cherrywood staves
4-year-old straight malt whiskey finished with applewood smoked barrels
4-year-old straight malt whiskey finished in hickory smoked barrels
4-year-old straight malt whiskey finished with maplewood staves
5-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon

Proportions are not detailed. Also: One presumes that the name “To The Finish” does not imply this is the final chapter in the series, of course. With that said, let’s try it out.

On the nose, things are immediately unexpected — though given the above blend, I’m not sure I even knew what I was expecting at all. An immediate brown sugar sweetness kicks things off, but it fades soon enough to reveal a smoldering quality of toasted cumin, cardamom, and hickory smoked almonds, all of which is driven by those various barrel finishes, to be sure. Things get spicier and smokier as they develop in glass, the cumin note giving way to a nuttier, wood-forward character that showcases a variety of flavors ranging from almond shells to dark chocolate. There’s ample red pepper in the mix on the finish, culminating with yeasty notes of bread dough and unctuous malt syrup — that malt whiskey element finally coming more clearly into focus.

As is often the case with Little Book, this is weird and unique stuff that you will probably either love or hate, depending on how many drams you’ve had already, of course.

117.45 proof.

B+ / $125 / jimbeam.com [BUY IT NOW FROM DRIZLY] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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