Per Freddie Noe: Little Book Chapter 5, “The Invitation,” is the fifth chapter in the Little Book Whiskey series. The Invitation offers a chance for any curious whiskey drinker to expand their palette - both seasoned connoisseurs and newcomers alike. The name of this year's chapter offers fans of American whiskey an opportunity to experience liquid that I personally had a hand in creating and blending and showcases the innovation of Little Book chapters over the last five years. Little Book Chapter 5 is a blend of four different liquid streams with a vast range of ages, flavors and distillation styles. Three of the four liquid streams contained in Chapter 5 were distilled under my watchful eye, and I'm thrilled to offer drinkers a whiskey that is both expansive and complex. With the base of this blend being a 2-year-old bourbon, this chapter continues to push the boundaries of blending and challenges what some might assume of lower aged whiskies. The way these liquid streams complement each other makes this liquid extremely approachable, even for those who haven't given cask strength whiskey a try. The Invitation was one of the more difficult chapters to perfect. Harmonizing such varied liquids and ages requires delicate balancing of flavors and immense amounts of patience, but the effort was certainly worth it when you taste the final product. Little Book Chapter 5 is my way of inviting Little Book drinkers into different aspects of the whiskey space, regardless of if they've been along for the ride since Chapter 1 or are just tasting Little Book for the first time.

Per Freddie Noe: With “Lessons Honored” I wanted to pay homage to my father, Fred, and the lessons he passed down about bourbon and life. A lot of the lessons Dad taught me go back to honesty and integrity. Being true to yourself is something that's very important in our family and that carries over into our whiskey brands. Each liquid was chosen because of a connection to my dad and a lesson he taught me. The base of the blend is a Kentucky Straight Brown Rice Bourbon which reminds me of the first project I ever really handled on my own at the distillery. The “high rye” rye whiskey is an ode to Booker's Rye, an award-winning product created in 2017 and one of the first that Dad and I tasted together. It was a legendary release in honor of my granddaddy Booker Noe, and it was very special to play a small part in selecting and bottling the liquid with my dad. The last liquid Dad actually helped pick, though he didn't know it at the time. I brought him samples of a few liquids at different ages, and he ultimately picked this 7-year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is representative of our Small Batch Collection.Crafting this bourbon wasn't as difficult as previous years, because I had such a strong vision for the blend going into the liquid selection. In total, we tested 22 different blends in comparison to previous chapters where we tested more than 40. I spent most of my time perfecting the blend itself to balance the flavors and taste profile to create the final product.This year's blue neck tag is also an ode to my dad's favorite sports team