Review: Little Book Blended Whiskey Chapter 10: “All the Wiser” (2026)
Freddie Noe’s Little Book celebrates a milestone this season with its 10th release: “All the Wiser,” a name which nods at the lessons learned over a decade of Little Book releases:
Chapter 10 doesn’t just celebrate a decade of boundary-pushing blending but captures the evolution of one of American whiskey’s most innovative makers.
Since its inception, Little Book has been Freddie’s personal playground: an annual series that honors his grandfather Booker’s fearless approach to whiskey while carving out a distinctly modern perspective. But Chapter 10 is different. It’s not just another installment; it’s the culmination of everything Freddie has learned along the way.
After years of chasing precision and “perfect” blends, Freddie shifted his philosophy for this release. “All The Wiser” reflects a more intuitive approach, one that embraces the unpredictability of blending and allows the whiskey itself to lead. The result is a whiskey that feels more discovered than past releases.
This year’s blend draws from a spectrum of aged expressions across The James B. Beam Distilling Co. portfolio, including components finished in sherry and toasted bourbon casks.
It’s kind of buried in the prose, but the big change here is that this expression is composed of a kind of “greatest hits” of other (finished) Beam releases rather than pulling from unblended barrels scattered around the rickhouses. Here’s the rundown of what’s in the blend:
14 year old Basil Hayden
11 year old Knob Creek
10 year old Booker’s
9 year old Knob Creek
9 year old Baker’s
4 year old Jim Beam finished in sherry and toasted bourbon casks
Proportions, as usual, are not disclosed. Note that while all the components are bourbons, the finished product is officially being sold as a “blended straight whiskey.”
Little Book Blended Whiskey Chapter 10: “All the Wiser” (2026) Review
An aggressive tea leaf quality dominates the nose upon pouring, lightly sweetened black tea with overtones of clove and nutmeg. Time in glass allows a fruitier element of fig jam to emerge, sparring curiously with gentler notes of black coffee that smolder on the back end.
The palate is a scorcher at full strength. Water is helpful in taming the heat and coaxing out more nuance. What struck me most clearly on the tongue was the whiskey’s dense sweetness, with sweet nougat leading to notes of walnut and chestnut, both glazed in brown sugar. A fruitcake character builds from there as those clove and nutmeg elements find a friend in a healthy punch of cinnamon, with a touch of orange peel grated over the top. The whiskey isn’t especially woody until the conclusion, which has a lightly resinous character that evokes polished oak and eucalyptus, a pinch of mint leading the way out of a delightful, well-balanced experience.
122.6 proof.
A- / $160 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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