CLERMONT, Ky. — One of the most anticipated names in American rye whiskey is returning in 2026 as The James B. Beam Distilling Co. prepares to release a new Booker’s Rye alongside the third edition of Freddie Noe’s Little Book The Infinite.
Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2026 will be a limited-edition Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey finished in apple brandy barrels and infused with cinnamon, marking another rare appearance of rye whiskey under the Booker’s name.
The whiskey is bottled at 125.1 proof and aged 6 years, 2 months and 23 days. It will carry a suggested retail price of $129.99.
For longtime Beam fans and whiskey collectors, the release is particularly notable because Booker’s is overwhelmingly associated with uncut and unfiltered Kentucky bourbon. The Booker’s name on a rye whiskey immediately puts the 2026 release into a different category for collectors.
Freddie Noe developed the new expression, drawing inspiration from his grandfather Booker Noe and a family tradition known as “A.B.C. Wassail,” an apple wine recipe incorporating apples, bourbon barrels and cinnamon.
That inspiration carries directly into the flavor profile of the new whiskey.
Booker’s The Reserves 2026 combines the robust character of rye whiskey with flavors of bright apple, caramel, vanilla and charred oak, followed by a delicate cinnamon influence. The apple brandy barrel finish and cinnamon give the whiskey a seasonal character unlike a traditional Booker’s release.
The return of Booker’s Rye will inevitably draw comparisons with the original Booker’s Rye, which has become one of the most coveted modern Beam releases among American whiskey collectors.
But the 2026 release takes the Booker’s Rye concept in a new direction rather than attempting to recreate the original. The apple brandy barrel finish and cinnamon influence make The Reserves 2026 its own interpretation of what a Booker’s rye can be.
And it isn’t the only major limited whiskey coming from the Noe family this year.
Beam also is releasing Little Book The Infinite, Edition III, continuing Freddie Noe’s multigenerational whiskey project built around bourbon representing three generations of Noe family master distillers.
The Infinite brings together whiskeys associated with Booker Noe, Fred Noe and Freddie Noe, creating a blend intended to evolve from one annual edition to the next.
Edition III is bottled at 118.3 proof and carries a suggested retail price of $199.99.
The whiskey layers characteristics associated with each generation of the family. Booker’s contribution brings oak, smoke and char, while Fred’s influence contributes creamy caramel, vanilla and butterscotch. Freddie’s component adds tobacco and dark fruit notes.
The concept behind The Infinite differs from a conventional limited-edition blend because a portion of the whiskey carries forward as the expression evolves. New whiskeys are introduced into the blend with each annual edition, creating a continuing connection between releases.
The result is effectively a whiskey family tree in a bottle — one that changes annually while maintaining a connection to the previous edition.
For Freddie Noe, both releases also represent different ways of working with his family’s whiskey legacy.
Little Book The Infinite explicitly connects three generations of Noe family whiskey making, while Booker’s The Reserves takes one of his grandfather’s most recognizable whiskey names and applies it to an unconventional rye inspired by a personal Booker Noe tradition.
Together, Booker’s Bourbon The Reserves 2026 and Little Book The Infinite, Edition III give Beam enthusiasts two very different limited releases to chase in 2026 — one revisiting the rare Booker’s Rye name and the other continuing a whiskey designed to evolve across generations.
