Whiskey Advent Calendar Tasting: Knob Creek Bourbon

This is part of my series on tasting notes from the 2021 Drinks By The Dram Bourbon Advent Calendar.

Whiskey for December 17th, 2021: Knob Creek Bourbon

The distillery

Tonight's whiskey is made by Jim Beam (the distillery) of Jim Beam (the bourbon) fame. Jim Beam is part of an extremely large global spirits conglomerate called Beam Suntory that own a huge number of brands you're probably familiar with.

Knob Creek itself is made in the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. The brand was introduced in 1992 as part of the Jim Beam small batch collection that includes Booker's, Baker's, and Basil Hayden's as well. All fantastic bourbons. Check them out.

Jim Beam as a distillery has been around since 1795 and has produced that whole time except during prohibition. They were purchased by Suntory Holdings in 2014 to become part of Beam Suntory. The current Master Distiller is Fred Noe and Freddie Noe. Fred being the 7th generation of Beam family to work as master distiller.

Knob Creek makes a fair number of varieties these days including a rye, a 12-year bourbon, a single barrel and a smoked maple varient.

The whiskey

Man, what can I say about Knob Creek? Ok, this is a Kentucky Bourbon aged 9 years and bottled at 100 proof, a little higher than your average 80-90 proof bourbon. If you've drank any reasonable amount of bourbon, you've had Knob Creek. You've been in a bar where this was the top shelf bourbon. I've had this neat, on the rocks, mixed with soda, in cocktails (from simple to fancy). It's knob-freaking-creek.

Maybe it's just iconic for me because my whiskey drinking started in the early aughts and the selection of high end bourbons was kind of limited. Knob Creek represented a truly high quality product that was easy to find and wasn't too expensive. There's a lot more choice these days, so maybe Knob Creek is just another whiskey among an ocean of choice, but it's a king in my mind.

Knob Creek's website is a little sparse on details, we get this write-up:

An unflinching balance of deep, pre-Prohibition-style bourbon with a robust oak taste, complemented with hints of smooth vanilla and layered caramel.

Sadly no mash bill, but I think we'll survive. Let's dive in.

Look

Knob Creek is a lovely golden brown with honey gold highlights. It swirls freely, but only creates a few thin legs that run pretty quickly.

Nose

The nose is robust with alcohol which carries the candied cherries, caramel, and vanilla very well. There's strong oak through the whole nose.

Taste

Whew, it bites. The 100 proof really comes through as the whiskey nips at you on its way down. Despite that it start gentle and sweet with caramel and vanilla and then crashes into rye spice and oak that overtakes everything. It finishes long and peppery with a little mint hiding in there. It's bold and each flavor stands out as it runs its course

After water

As expected some water tames this whiskey considerably. The alcohol nose is tamed and leaves use with just a reminder that it used to be there. We get the same candied cherries, caramel and vanilla, but now some grassy rye notes can surface as well.

Same with the taste. Things are similar. The alcohol swell is tamed, letting us note the rather considerable amount of oak in the drink. The finish is not as long, but also pulls in the grassy rye notes too. This is a better and more balanced whiskey with a touch of water, for sure.

Summary

I know I can't be objective here. I really like Knob Creek. I don't drink it much anymore, but it's hard not to love that it picks a few notes for its flavor and just nails them. It's sweet and rich and if you let it, it'll give you a smack. Likewise, you can calm it down and enjoy something classic that's still easy to drink.

It's not better than a lot of the option you can find these days, but it's good. Solid. A real workhorse whiskey. You can do pretty much anything with it and no one is going to go, "Oh man, I don't like Knob Creek".