On April 27th, 2019, the Niagara Whisky Society met to explore the Jim Beam Brand. There were fourteen in attendance, which comprised a larger number of guests than ever before. The night opened with a round of Budweiser Copper Lager, which was fitting considering the flavour is influenced by Jim Beam barrel staves. As the group milled about, catching up, and meeting new faces, we finally settled into seats around a well-appointed white-tablecloth meeting space at 1575 Second Ave. Darryl Loewen and Michael Klassen officially opened the evening with welcoming comments, and Darryl presented a slideshow with information regarding the distillery, as well as the flight of four Jim Beam bottlings. The glasses were pre-poured and set on informative placemats. However, the flight was presented in a way such that the four whiskies were not set corresponding to the info below on the placemat. The four whiskies could then be analyzed “blind” for each participant to give their best guess as to which was which. After approximately one hour, the guesses were collected, tabulated, and there were three correct guesses! James Hein, Paul Westlake, and James Borzychowski were all correct, and therefore entered into a “playoff” round to test their nosing/tasting skills further. Michael poured a sample of one whisky from our vault, and they had some time to try and deduce what was in their glass. A closed ballot revealed James B. to be the winner, taking home a gift of bourbon, blended from the night’s Jim Beam flight, as well as a pair of Kentucky Bourbon Trail glasses (pictured below). The table of snacks and charcuterie were deliciously chosen by Michael, and paired perfectly with a bourbon themed night (also pictured below). The flight was as follows:
- Jim Beam Repeal Batch (Non-chill filtered) 43% abv
- Jim Beam Rye 45% abv
- Jim Beam Bonded 50% abv
- Jim Beam Double Oak 43% abv
After the initial round of tasting, complete with our friendly competition, we got to partake together as a group in a truly unusual and specially characterful American whiskey created by the son of Master Distiller Fred Noe. Little Book Chapter 2 was created by Freddie Booker Noe IV. This whiskey proved to be truly magnificent, evolving and shape-shifting as it opened up dramatically in the glass. This was an “event whiskey” of wonderful magnitude. A heavy hitter, this is bottled at cask strength, unfiltered, and uncoloured. Look for a full review on our reviews page soon.
Little Book Chapter 2: Noe Simple Task
- Bottled uncut & unfiltered at 59.4% abv
- Limited to 18,000 bottles
- Blended from 40 year old Canadian whisky, 13 year old Alberta rye, and 8 year old Kentucky straight rye.
