Raisin | Raspberry jam | Caramel | Leather | Brown sugar | Smoky barrel char

Sweet oak | Vanilla | Brown sugar | Rye spice | Honey | Tobacco | Cinnamon

Raisin | Fig | Dates | Dark chocolate | Caramel | Baking spices | Black pepper | Aged oak | Slight dry oak tannins

Little Book Chapter 10 “All the Wiser” is the 10th release in the brand’s Chapter line, and it pays respect to Little Book Chapter 3: "The Road Home" and the company’s Small Batch Collection. Chapter 03 was a blend of bourbons: 9 year old Knob Creek, 9 year old Basil Hayden, 11 year old Booker's, and 12 year old Baker's. Like Chapter 10, that blend was bottled uncut at 122.6 proof. For the current release, Master Distiller Freddie Noe takes the same approach but shuffles the age of each component, while also throwing in a finished component. The end result is a blend of 11 year old Knob Creek, 14 year old Basil Hayden, 10 year old Booker's, 9 year old Baker's, and 4 year old Jim Beam finished in sherry and toasted casks. Chapter 10 is also bottled at 122.6 proof.

As any Jim Beam fan has probably tried to create their own Small Batch Collection blend at some point. Though in Chapter 10’s case, procuring a 14 year old Basil Hayden is impossible if you don’t have “Noe” as your last name. Though this release could be seen as somewhat of a retread, there are probably many who weren’t around for Chapter 3, and it was also one of the Little Book’s more successful releases, making it harder to track down for those who wanted a bottle.

By refreshing the ages of the blended components, which increases the overall age by 3 years, and also adding in a 4 year old sherry and toasted finished bourbon, the results speak for themselves. Little Book Chapter 10 is rich in all the right ways, without being overly proof-forward as Chapter 3 was.

It drinks much more like you’d expect a blend of the company’s Small Batch Collection would. Classic Beam notes abound against rich, sweet aged oak and a touch of sherry flavoring that surprisingly pulls through. The flavor soup of sweet oak, vanilla, brown sugar, rye spice, honey, tobacco, and cinnamon on the palate beautifully complements the raisin, fig, dates, dark chocolate, caramel, baking spices, black pepper, and aged oak in the bourbon’s finish. Where Little Book Infinite Edition II featured many of the same flavors but in a more balanced sip, Chapter 10 is even more dynamic thanks to the inclusion of so many different components. It’s an exceptional release by Jim Beam and one of Little Book's best Chapter releases yet.