Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve 9 Year Old
Brash Beauty
0 791
Review by @WhiskyBee
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall91
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- Brand: Knob Creek
- Type: American
- ABV: 60%
From the folks at Beam, Knob Creek Single Barrel is an example of how a whiskey can be greatly improved by increasing the ABV to near-cask strength. It has roughly the same flavor profile as the standard Knob Creek 9 yo—which, at 50% ABV, isn’t exactly kid stuff—but upping the volume by 10% results in a gutsy wallop of fiery candies and corn. I like the standard 9 yo, but I’ve always found it a little bland on the palate and rough down the gullet. For the single-barrel version, ABV could well stand for Abundant, Bountiful, and Vigorous.
I prefer this stuff with a healthy dollop of cool water, although I can take it neat in small sips. Terrific on the tongue when neat, but more complex in the finish with water. Your call.
Nose: Fire, cinnamon, and vanilla when neat; water elicits loads of citrus fruits, caramel, honey, and whiffs of leather and rye. The honey overwhelms everything, but nicely so, after a five-minute sit.
Palate: Rich, thick, and loaded with corn—all sorts of corn, in fact. Yellow and white corn of the sweet and supersweet varieties and a warm bowl of high-end popcorn as well. (As I live in Valparaiso, Indiana, with Orville Redenbacher’s farmlands just down the road, I know my popcorn.) There’s plenty of quality oak, vanilla, nutmeg, and fresh-from-the-oven peanut brittle as well. It teeters on the brink of over-sweetness, but never goes over the edge.
Finish: Long and luscious. Smoky wood, rich chocolate fudge, caramel, rye, and a whisper of mint at the final fadeout. I seem to get a slightly unpleasant note of ethanol with every other sip, but it’s something I never noticed until tonight. Perhaps my tongue is playing tricks on me tonight, but it’s enough to knock a point off my score.
Knob Creek Single Barrel has replaced Booker’s as my favorite in the Beam bourbon lineup. It’s a little on the bold side for an everyday bourbon (give me Elmer T. Lee for those purposes), but it’s a fine choice for special occasions—even with its everyday price tag.
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@WhiskyBee, it is great to see you reviewing again! Welcome home.
Personally, I regard standard Knob Creek Small Batch and Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve to be two entirely different animals. I've found standard Knob Creek to be rather batch variable: some batches have been excellent, others not really very good. Knob Creek is a BATCH WHISKEY, an averaging out of a number of barrels. Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve, on the other hand, is the best of the best barrels, barrels which are good enough to stand on their own, and don't need to be averaged out for effect. It is always great to drink your bourbon at 60% abv or more, rather at at a lower strength, but the single most important element regarding what makes Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve great is BARREL SELECTION.
My own reviews of Booker's and Knob Creek Single Barrel reflect exactly what you have expressed in your review: I liked my bottle of KCSB even slightly better than my bottle of Booker's. BUT, as an ongoing brand observation I am certain that for me Booker's and Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve are very close in quality and in my affection, and that which I would prefer at any given time would be determined by the exact barrel of KCSB, the exact batch of Booker's, and the particular mood I am in.