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New "blended" whiskey from Beam called "Little Book"


tanstaafl2
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Since it is being developed by Fred Noe's son I presume that the name is a take off on Bookers.

 

Sounds a bit odd wih bourbon, rye, malt and corn whiskey. Gift Horse-y perhaps? 13yo Corn whiskey at that! That might be of some interest on its own.

 

As for the blend itself I will try anything if offered but doesn't sound like something I am going to be seeking out. I am guessing the price will be closer to KC LE's and the attempted inflation of Bookers than it will be to regular KC.

 

Maybe I will be wrong...   :huh:

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I think the distillery's are sitting on bourbon to age and they are releasing crap like this. Like you I'm interested in the corn whiskey. 

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Color me unimpressed.    I too, would be interested in trying 13-year-0old Corn Whiskey, though.

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Sounds interesting, but nothing I would put in much work to acquire. I will definitely give it a try if I happen to run across one in the wild.

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I saw an article listing 79.99 as the SRP. If that is the case I too would be interested in tasting but reluctant to seek it out for purchase.

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Well, this could be pretty good, or, it could be an indicator that Beam is running out of ideas because they don't have older Booker's or older rye they can sell for a pretty penny.

 

I do find the blending idea interesting and am keen to see how it turns out. Isn't this what some Canadian whiskey is? (Blends of various single grain whiskies.) We know that in the hands of a skilled blender, average whiskey can be combined into something good (Nancy Fraley). What we don't know is if Freddie is any good at this 

The proof is in the pudding, as they say.

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 I don't think this will be a whiskey that I will enjoy, I do think however that it will be a good blend. A young bourbon already has a very corn forward taste so blending it with an older corn whiskey should make for a good blend, if you like that. 

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It sounds interesting but at $80 a bottle, I've got to taste it first. Unusual mix, and while I'm sure multiple other folks at Beam blessed it, first blend from someone... I need a lot of convincing first.

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On 7/14/2017 at 5:16 PM, tanstaafl2 said:

 

 

Sounds a bit odd with bourbon, rye, malt and corn whiskey.

 

It's quite innovative if you ask me. Bit expensive, but interesting.

 

It is basically 'home made' bourbon. Wouldn't doubt in a Beam mash bill ratio, say 75% corn whiskey, 13% rye whiskey  and  12% malt whiskey.

 

The bigger question is were they mashed with the malt or a 'chemical' amylase. Not that it matters much, but I would rather have a mix of the three whiskeys than two with the malt included for a a true 'Frankenbooze.'

 

Also it probably contains ≥20% KSBW to retain the 'blended whiskey' moniker although not containing any 'vodka'.

Edited by Don Birnam
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I can get a handle of Seagram's 7 "blended whiskey" for $17 plus tax which, much to my surprise, is tolerable when mixed with sodas.  Or, I can buy a 750ml of Virginia Lightning Corn for about $20 and vat some KSBW and malt whiskey that I don't like too much.  In other words, after trying those funny Beam products like the 86 proof craft finished whiskeys in the perfume-shape bottles and after the Booker's price bump, I'm sticking to the JB BIB at under $20 - I think it is a bargain at that price - and let others chase the Beam marketers' shiny objects.  Hhhhmmm.  Maybe I ought to try vatting the JB BIB with my VLCorn and a little Wasmund's 3-month-old single malt . . .

 

[Uh, hedging a bit here --]  Of course, if any of you all try it and really like it, let us know, ok?  My clunker shelf has some space so . . .

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  • 1 month later...

This is actually an old idea; after Prohibition and during/after the Second World War, when stocks were low for many distillers and their straight whiskeys, a lot of them marketed this type of product, labeling it a blend of straight whiskies. Sometimes this was done because there wasn't enough aged stock on hand; Glenmore had at least one brand that was a small percentage of 5 year old straight whiskey blended with a majority of whiskey aged 18 months or so. At other times, this was done to combine the products of more than one distillery location in different states. This was the case with Frankfort Distillers, who had distilleries in Kentucky and in Maryland, and who sold blends of straight whiskies such as Paul Jones and Four Roses, that were combinations of whiskey from their various plants.  

Yes, you read that right. It's commonly but mistakenly believed that Seagram's demoted Four Roses from a straight bourbon to a blended whiskey; in fact, at least from the end of Prohibition until Seagram changed its formula, Four Roses was always sold and advertised as a blend of straight whiskies, 90 proof.  Beam is, as I said, resurrecting an old post-Prohibition and wartime idea. 

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I agree with Michael in the main point made but I'm pretty sure Four Roses was a true blend (bourbon + GNS) in the latter pre-Kirin days. It had a higher straight element than most blends but was still >50% GNS. I think what happened was, it went from bourbon, to an all-blend of straight bourbons, then to the latter + GNS.

 

This new Beam release sounds to me essentially like a blend of all-straights, except I'd guess for the corn whiskey which touches no virgin charred wood. (It's straight corn whiskey technically but I'm using straight in the sense of new charred wood aging).

 

It's like a bourbon with extra rye and malt in the mashbill and a touch of that corn whiskey. I'd have left the corn out as it seems to me to mix apples and oranges.

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  • 1 month later...

I saw this today (at MSRP) and passed.  The temptation was there, as I am partial to all things Beam, but somehow I managed my way out...without pulling the trigger.

 

Anybody here actually tasted this yet?

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This is out at Virginia ABC stores now too. Beautiful packaging. No desire to buy it for $80 before trying it to be sure. Looking forward to seeing some reviews of it before pulling the trigger on it. For $80, it would have to be pretty amazing for me to bite.

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I saw this today and also passed at around MSRP. I get the feeling this one will sit for a while, similar to the knob creek limited editions, or at least as much as parker's malt. I think if they had released the 13 yr corn whiskey by itself it would probably move off the shelves a lot faster. Booker's Corn... ah well.

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Everybody's crapping on this already, but it's time somebody actually tried and posted them tasting notes :) I'm getting curious here. When I'm $80 curious, bad things may happen.

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Everybody's crapping on this already, but it's time somebody actually tried and posted them tasting notes [emoji4] I'm getting curious here. When I'm $80 curious, bad things may happen.

Uninformed speculation abounds when curiosity cost $80.


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I just picked one up yesterday, I'll let you all know when I get around to trying it with the usual set of buddies in the next week or two.


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2 hours ago, BigRich said:


Uninformed speculation abounds when curiosity cost $80.


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Dang!  You're a regular Master Po!  :D

IMG_4202.JPG

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5 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

Dang!  You're a regular Master Po!  :D

IMG_4202.JPG

"Snatch this bottle from my hand Grasshopper." :lol:

 

Cheers! Joe

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