Little Book Chapter 3 "The Road Home" Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750ml

Little Book Chapter 3 "The Road Home" is the 2019 release of Freddie Noe's annual limited-edition series, and the most rooted chapter he had written to that point. Where Chapter 1 deconstructed a bourbon mashbill and Chapter 2 reached into Canada, Chapter 3 comes home — literally. The name references the road Freddie drives to and from the distillery every day, the same road Booker Noe drove when he worked there, and it was with that daily journey in mind that Freddie decided to honor his grandfather by building a blend entirely from the four bourbon brands Booker created as part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Bourbon Collection in the early 1990s. The components are each sourced at significantly greater age than their standard commercial expressions: a 9-year-old Knob Creek, a 9-year-old Basil Hayden's, an 11-year-old Booker's, and a 12-year-old Baker's — all at barrel strength, all uncut and unfiltered. Freddie tested 57 different recipes before landing on recipe 51 as the final blend, more trial and error than any previous Little Book chapter, because as he put it: "if someone is going to play with the liquids that my grandfather developed, they had better produce a damned good blend." The result is the first bourbon-only Little Book and the most cohesive expression of the Beam family legacy in the series. Bottled at 61.3% ABV and 122.6 proof, released September 2019, presented in the dark wood Little Book box. Now a discontinued 2019 back vintage.

ABV / Proof

Tasting Notes

Color: Warm amber with copper tones — richly saturated from four well-aged unfiltered bourbons at barrel strength.

Nose: Rickhouse mustiness and vanilla custard open alongside salted caramel, dark chocolate, peanut brittle, charred oak, blood orange, allspice, and cinnamon. The 12-year Baker's provides a prodigious, sweetly complex backbone. Nougat and plum notes from the Basil Hayden's component surface with time.

Palate: Thick and warm — caramel, vanilla flan, and cinnamon lead into dark chocolate, black cherry, big pepper spice, and charred oak. The high-rye Basil Hayden's delivers the spice, the Booker's component drives the proof intensity, and the Baker's anchors the whole blend with brown sugar and aged sweetness. Licorice and maple add complexity mid-palate.

Finish: Long, drying, and intensely warm — red pepper, dark chocolate, lingering salted caramel, and seasoned oak that builds rather than fades. The "damned good blend" Freddie set out to make.

FAQ

What makes Chapter 3 unique in the Little Book series?
"The Road Home" is the only chapter built entirely from bourbon — specifically, one expression from each of the four brands in Booker Noe's original Small Batch Bourbon Collection, all at far greater age than their standard releases. It is Freddie's most deliberate tribute to his grandfather, using the four bourbons Booker created and nurtured as the building blocks. Freddie also tried 57 different blend recipes before settling on recipe 51 — more development work than any other chapter in the series — because he felt the responsibility of working with Booker's own creations demanded nothing less than perfection.

What does "The Road Home" name mean?
The name refers to the actual road Freddie drives every day to and from the distillery in Clermont, Kentucky — the same road Booker Noe drove during his tenure there. Every trip down that road is a reminder of Booker's legacy, and in 2019 — the year Freddie's son was born — those reflections on family and legacy became the emotional engine for this chapter.

How does Chapter 3 compare to other Little Book releases we carry?
We also carry Little Book Chapter 1 "The Easy" (2017) and Chapter 4 "Lessons Honored" (2020). Together, Chapters 1, 3, and 4 represent three of the most historically significant Little Book back vintages available. Chapter 1 is the inaugural release; Chapter 3 is the only all-bourbon chapter built on Booker's original Small Batch Collection; and Chapter 4 is Freddie's tribute to his father. Each is discontinued and will never be repeated.

Where can I buy Little Book Chapter 3 The Road Home online?
Available here at Liquor On Broadway while stock lasts, with fast insured shipping nationwide.