Knob Creek 100 Proof 9 Year Old Bourbon Whiskey (1000ml)

"One of the most complex Knob Creeks I have ever encountered: A True Kentucky belle!" - Jim Murray.

Named after Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home in Kentucky, Knob Creek is arguably bourbon at its finest, often upstaging Bookers (Beam’s intended flagship) in comparative tastings. Created to represent whisky before it was mass produced, Knob Creek embodies the look, feel and taste of pre-prohibition bourbon. Bottled at 50% alc./vol. like all good bourbons were a century ago, Knob Creek is aged nine years, giving it the distinction of being one of the oldest Small Batch Bourbons. Extra maturation allows it to absorb more of the sugar in the wood, giving it a slightly richer taste and nose.

Tasting note: Deeply coloured with a hefty, vanilla and caramel-soaked bouquet with black pepper and zippy, apply-rye adding vibrancy and balance. Muscular and impressively weighted, with no pretensions to being anything but a Kentuckian: rich corn and oils compete with vanilla custard, caramel and dried coconut, countered by balancing minty freshness and white pepper through the finish. High pitch vanilla and fresh-cut oak resonate in the aftertaste. Really gutsy, and pretty much text book for the category. Hard to imagine the value getting better than this. 50% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... Knob was one of the first bourbons I had when I started taking whiskey seriously, and it’s still a kicker. No-nonsense, flint-hard nose: slickly-polished oak furniture, cinnamon stick, cracked rye, wet cornmeal, hard candies. Bang! A lean whiskey that gets in your mouth and explodes with rye spice and cinnamon candy, a sharp wedge that opens you right up. The finish echoes: oak, a dying fire, clean and almost crisp. Emphatic, bright, and swift. 90 points
Value Pick. www.maltadvocate.com, reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Fall 2014)

Deep amber color. Vanilla and caramel fudge, licorice, peanut, and wet wood aromas. a round entry leads to a smooth dryish medium-full to-bodied palate with brown sugar, spicy rye, licorice and brown spice flavors. Finishes with a somewhat lean and tannic wood spice fade. Develops nicely with a little water—a good one to work on and savor over time.
International Review of Spirits Award: Gold Medal
90 points (Exceptional)
- www.tastings.com