"The Road Home" batch pays tribute to my grandfather as the name Little Book is actually the childhood nickname that he gave me. And so I thought after having a couple of chapters under my belt that it would be a great time to pay honor to him and blend some of the liquids that he gave the bourbon industry. The four liquids that I chose to go into this batch of Little Book are from the original small batch collection that my grandfather, Booker, created. The Road Home is a blend of nine year old Basil Hayden, nine year old Knob Creek, 11 year old Booker's and 12 year old Baker's, and as always with Little Book, these liquids are at barrel strength and will be bottled at barrel strength as well. The name "The Road Home" references the road that I travel to and from on a regular basis, the same road my grandfather, Booker, traveled back when he used to work here at the distillery. I tinkered with a lot of different recipes, 57 to be exact, before finding what I was looking for - layers of vanilla, char and dried apricots with lingering oak. The final recipe I selected was 51 of the 57 I tried - a lot more trial and error than the others, but I thought if someone is going to play with the liquids that my grandfather developed, they had better produce a damned good blend." - Freddie Noe, 8th Generation Beam Family Distiller
- Nose: Caramel, smoky barrel char, sweet baking spices and vanilla.
- Taste: Vanilla, char and dried apricot with a lingering oak.
- Finish: Lingering, warm and sweet, layered with tones of oak.