Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Knob Creek 15 year old bourbon, batch KC002

After a 5+ year hiatus, BARD Friday returns! As with all my reviews, I give you no promises regarding the BARD whiskies' relevance, though it's still cheaper and easier to buy contemporary bourbons and ryes compared to single malt scotch, especially here in The Midwest.

Let's start the fun with the KC002 batch of Knob Creek 15, which was released either in 2021 or 2022. As I'm sure I've written many times, Knob Creek and I have a weird relationship. In general, I almost always prefer rye over bourbon in everything from sippin' to mixin'. But I like the Knob Creek brand's bourbon a lot more than its rye, to the point that I'm unmotivated to ever try another KC rye. On the positive side, yay KC bourbon! Here's the oldest one I've had.

pic source

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley (I think)
Age: minimum 15 years
Batch: KC002
ABV: 50% ABV

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Pretty fruit notes arrive early in the nose, with pineapple, lemon zest, and cherry jello ringing the loudest. A hint of honey drifts towards flower blossoms with time. Soft whiffs of confections. And, yes, plenty of earthy char.

An intense burst of cherry candy meets almost-smoky levels of barrel char in the palate. Cinnamon, mint leaf, and salt rest in the middle, lemon and honey in the back.

Tannins fill the finish, yet do not wreck the tongue. Smaller touches of salt, lemon, blossoms, and mint leaf cower beneath.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The adorable nose wins, of course. Though quite good, the palate is prevented from ascending further by the brutality of charred white oak, something I frequently find in >12yo bourbons. It's like the leveling-off of a mountain. We never see the top, just an early plateau. This whiskey still works very well though, and may be one of the best contemporary 15yo bourbons I've had, though that's not saying much.

I would absolutely drink this again! And if you don't mind tannin aggression, I hope you find Knob Creek 15 year old at its SRP.

Availability - USA
Pricing - anywhere from $100 to $300
Rating - 84

Two terrible Knob Creek rye infusions

As mentioned yesterday, I found Knob Creek rye, barrel 8097, to be grody upon opening. Three months passed and it didn't improve so I was left with two options: Dump or Infuse. I elected to make a pair of related infusions.

Infusion One would have two Madagascar vanilla beans (whole, scored lengthwise), one dehydrated orange slice (whole), eight cloves and eight ounces of rye

Infusion Two would have two Madagascar vanilla beans, one dehydrated orange slice, eight cloves and eight ounces of rye, but the orange and vanilla beans would be chopped into tiny pieces.

Infusion One was supposed to be the less vanilla-ed of the two, but with a bigger clove hit. Infusion Two was to be more aggressive overall due to the greater exposure the ingredients would have to the whisky.

Just as important as the whisky: The Names.

Yeah, so the one on the left was supposed to say Clove Bomb. But it says Clover Bomb. Which isn't the same thing. And the one the right was supposed to say My Wee Bits. And it says My Wee Bits.

Yes, I was sober at the time. Probably. I mean, I was wielding a sharp knife. Causation, Correlation, etc.

The infusions were supposed to stew for three weeks and then I kinda forgot about them. So eight weeks later...

NOTES

"Clover Bomb"

Nose - Plenty of cloves, but not too much, and almost floral in its clovery. Carob, smoked vanilla, orange bubblegum and lots of spice cake.

Palate - Oh wow, too many cloves. Maybe some mulled wine, but that's due to the cloves. Hints of limes, flowers, woody bitterness. It was worse the following day. My written note, "Fluh".

Finish - Cloves.

"My Wee Bits" (has actually wee bits of things at the bottom)

Nose - Much less vanilla than expected. Flowers, bubblegum, lemon zest, Cow Tales candy, Creamsicles, white gummi worms.

Palate - Eel. Like straight up broiled anago with sauce and a seaweed belt. After 30 minutes, the citrus appears. So it's eel and salty creamsicles. This is all getting very phallic. The eel note remained on day two, joined by cloves and sour fruit.

Finish - Eel, vanilla, oranges.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Don't forget about your infusions.

2. This was worse than the rye.

3. I should stop doing infusions.

4. I could really go for some sushi right now.

Knob Creek 5 year old 2013 Rye, barrel 8097 for Binny's

Knob Creek and I have an awkward relationship. I'm a big fan of their 10+ year old private picks (such as this one) and their 10+ year old limited editions (like this) of their bourbon, but I really don't like their ryes. This is the opposite of how things usually go. I usually like rye more than bourbon, and my palate does not usually warm up to 10+ year old bourbon.

This could just be an issue with Beam's ryes. With the exception of the $X,XXX priced Booker's rye, I don't think I've enjoyed a single rye produced by Beam Suntory, with the absolute nadir being Basil Hayden's Dark Rye, one of the worst American whiskies I've ever tasted (not exaggerating).

Yet, due to my positive experiences with Binny's's's's single malt cask selections, I picked up a bottle of one of their Knob Creek rye barrel selections. I was on a particularly batshit road trip to Chicago back in January, so I thought I'd bring back as many goodies as possible. That led to this post, which has aged badly.

Anyway, I opened my bottle of barrel 8097 KC rye and HATED it. Nearly undrinkable, the rye had a poisonous edge that make me concerned about continuing to drink it, in a cheap baijiu sort of way. So the bottle sat open for a few months, until I decided to try to infuse the damned thing with goodness. More about the infusions tomorrow. I tried the rye again this past week, and here are my notes.

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 55% Rye / 35% Corn / 10% Malted Barley (just passing along the rumors)
Age: 5 years (7 October 2013 - 24 May 2019)
Warehouse: W-K
Floor: F-02
Rick: R-043
Alcohol by Volume: 57.5%

(from my bottle)

NEAT

I get ketchup (a lot of ketchup) and orange peels on the nose. Then bacon, rock candy, cherry lollipops and barrel char. There's also an aggressive peppery white dog note. The palate is......not horrible. It's still very hot, very sweet and very peppery, but it also has some crispy pork notes and tart citrus. The hot finish has lots of sugar, tart citrus and black pepper.

MANHATTAN, 2:1 ratio

It's, ya know. I mean, the Luxardo cherry was good.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The rye improved after a half year, going from an F to a C, so that's something in its favor. But because life is short and I (claim to) value liver health, I dumped the last few ounces down the sink. This barrel is a small step above the standard Knob Creek rye, so if you like that whiskey you may love this whiskey. I heart neither. On the bright side, my infusions were so much worse than this.

Availability - Binny's stores
Pricing - $44.99

Rating - 75

Knob Creek 14 year old 2004 Brown Sweetness Vol. 1

I went to see a guy about a bottle. I wanted a bourbon. And for my sins he gave me one.

"He" is MAO, a renaissance blogger, person pisser-offer and high priest of The Northfield Whisk(e)y Tendency. N.W.T. selected a private barrel of bourbon and MAO documented the process very well back in September.

I don't always buy bourbon, but when I do it's a private bottling. And though, yes, even those bottles hold mass-produced tempered poison, there's something slightly more human about them. Sometimes one knows the person who selected the barrel, or at least knows a person who knows the person who did it. And, like single cask single malts, private barrels are often a little off brand, a little better, a little worse, a little crazier, a little different than the massive batches pumped out by large distilleries.

As much as some of us would hate to admit it, Beam McDonalds Microsoft Starbucks Suntory has been known to make a good bottle of bourbon. And when their Knob Creeks are on, they are ON. So I was happy to see N.W.T. went with a Knob Creek, a 14 year old (positively ancient these days) at that.

Here's a tasteful photo of the bottle:

Here's a tasteless photo of the bottle:

  REDACTED  

And here's the very cool N.W.T. label, designed by Doug:

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley (maybe?)
Age: 14 years (14 October 2004 - 9 May 2019)
Warehouse: W-I
Floor: F-04
Rick: R-018
ABV: 60% ABV

This review of this 60%abv whiskey began about one-third of the way down the bottle. It ended in the emergency room. I kid, kid. Sort of.

NEAT
The nose has that romantic woodiness that only American whiskey can pull off, and Scotch cannot, no matter how hard those companies try. Think cooperage + antique furniture + a whiff of maple syrup. And the vanilla isn't, well, vanilla. There's citrus and smoke to it. There are also dried cherries, dried apricots, a hint of root beer and a sprinkle of Beam's peanut dust. The palate lands a hot peppery punch at first sip. So it does need some air. Then comes honey, lemons, halva, banana and maybe some stone fruits. No woody bitterness, and more caramel sauce than vanilla. The finish mostly matches the palate. It's warm and peppery with lemons, bananas and a moderate sweetness.

I am of the sensitive sort, so I'm going to add water...

DILUTED TO ~50%abv, < 1¼ tsp per 30mL whiskey
The nose's vanilla has gone straight to the bean and is joined by almond extract. The oak reads more toasty than charred, with a little bit of wood spice coming through. Also some lemon zest and pineapple. More fruit than vanilla in the palate. Dried apricots, dried peaches and lemons. Ginger beer and candy canes. The finish seems longer at this strength; sweeter and more complex too. Lemon sorbet, fresh ginger, candy canes and a pinch of salt.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Normally bourbons older than 12 years read too bitter and lopsided to my palate, but not this one. It's the fruits! The palate lifts right off at 50%abv, while the nose does more than fine at either strength. Reducing it to 50%abv also works well for old fashioneds and Manhattans. This is the only bottle of bourbon I have open right now and I'm glad of it. Great selection, MAO! Thank you for letting me relieve N.W.T. of a bottle. I hope there will be a second volume!

Rating - I'm happier than a cow drinking her own barrel-aged milk!

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Knob Creek 2001 Limited Edition, Batch 1

This past Spring, Suntory Beam elected to drop a few ultra-luxury whiskies into the active marketplace.  The one that drew the most (not entirely positive) attention, was the $300-$400 Booker's Rye.  Allegedly a once-in-a-lifetime release, the rye was very good and something I'd recommend for 1/4th of its price.  Along with the rye, Beam also released three batches of 14+ year old 2001 Knob Creek bourbon.  Note, that these were batches and not single casks, nor were they released at full strength.  The batches were labelled "Limited Edition" but Beam did not offer information about the batch sizes, though I have seen bottles online with numbers over #9000.  The pricing of these "Limited Editions" started at $130, or 4x the price of the regular 9 year old small batch**, and 3x the price of the 9 year old 120 proof single barrels.

With all this taken into consideration, I ignored the press releases and reviews of these Knobs.  But then thanks to a fortuitous sample swap with Mr. The Whiskey Jug, I received a sample of Batch 1.  Of course from the moment I received the sample, I've been looking forward to drinking it.  If it's half as good as Booker's Rye, I'll be impressed.

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Age: 14 years (2001-2016)
Barrels or Bottles in Batch: ???
ABV: 50% ABV
(Thanks to Josh P. for the sample!)

NEAT
Lots of oak on the nose, which is to be expected from a 14yo American whiskey.  Enjoyable combination of fruit, candy, and earthy things.  Hazelnuts, grilled pears, black cherry syrup, vanilla frosting, gumballs, dried apricots, clay, and a hint of pine.  The palate has a bit more heat to it than expected.  It has the dark cherry thing going on, a bit of rye spice, and a big peppery bite.  It's slightly leathery with a sea salt note.  This all sits on a nice spread of Nutella.  Its finish of a good length, full of rye spice, fragrant oak, and salt. A pleasing lack of sweetness.

WITH WATER (~45%abv)
Now the nose has loads of milk chocolate.  I'm thinking Twix Bar and all its parts.  Then raisins and vanilla bean.  Candy shop.  The chocolate grows darker with time.  Some subtle changes in the palate.  More (tart) cherries, less heat.  A little earthy and tannic, but not mouth-drying.  Never gets too sweet.  The finish keeps its length, growing slightly sweeter though also picking up a touch of bitterness to balance it out.

MORE WORDS:
Because of the product's price and hype, I wanted to hate this bourbon.  But I liked it, a lot.  There's a very good complexity to it at 100 proof.  At 90 proof it's a rounder better drinker.  The quality is comparable to the better barrels of Blanton's, has a similar rye content, and should appeal to Blanton's fans.  I like it much more than the regular 9 year old small batch (of which I have more experience than the single barrel) Knob Creek, and it doesn't have the oak and heat problems I often find in Booker's Small Batches.  I would absolutely buy a bottle of Knob Creek 2001 Limited Edition Small Batch #1 if it were half its MSRP.  $65-$70, yep.  $130+, nope.  If any bottles of this batch remain anywhere, I recommend doing a bottle split with your bourbon buddies, that way no one's pitching in more than $40 for a few drinks.  Or... *he squints to find a silver lining* ...it's probably a bargain compared to Booker's Rye.

Availability - ???
Pricing - $120-$200
Rating - 87

**And just like that...it's gone.  Knob Creek Small Batch has now dropped its age statement.  So the KCSB goes the scotch route: NAS for the masses, age statements for the wealthy.

NOT Single Malt Report: Knob Creek 9 year old Single Barrel Reserve Small Batch Bourbon (barrel 106, exclusive to The Party Source)

To celebrate the official end of summer (and the beginning of the Southern California heat) I'm reviewing four bourbons this week.  Bourbon highballs feel much better than any drink, besides beer and (probably) water, during this heat.  If the nights actually cool down then a good bourbon neat isn't the worst idea, either.

I'm starting off with the bourbon that's the hardest to find of the four.  And I'm not sure if the specific barrel is still available.  You're welcome!

Knob Creek is a Beam Suntory brand, sort of a sub-brand of Jim Beam bourbon.  There's the regular "Small Batch" 100 proof 9 year old bourbon, an NAS or "patiently aged" straight rye (of which I am not fond), another "small batch" bourbon that is "patiently crafted" with "natural" Smoked Maple flavoring, and finally there's a 9yo Single Barrel Reserve Small Batch(?!) bourbon which punches in at 120 proof.  Wording complaints aside, I've been most interested in the single barrel but didn't want to put down $40 in return for a bottle of hot burning.  Luckily, Friend Florin saved a sample of this bourbon for me.

There's a subset within the Single Barrel Small Batch Reserve bourbons, known as the Private Barrels.  These are barrels selected by specialty retailers (from amongst a number of barrel samples) to sell exclusively in their store.  The Party Source, being Kentucky's darling retailer, sold this barrel #106 at their store.  I don't know if this is the barrel they're currently selling, but I can tell you with quite some confidence that The Party Source no longer ships alcohol.  So the relevance of this barrel may be limited if you, the reader, don't live in TPS's neighborhood.

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: Standard 15% rye (probably)
Age: minimum 9 years old
Barrel#: 106
Exclusive to: The Party Source
ABV: 60% ABV
(Thanks to Florin for the sample!)

NEAT
Its color is very red very dark gold.  The nose starts out *whew* WOOD and paint fumes.  After airing it out for a few minutes, I find some cinnamon and caramel candies.  Maraschino cherry fruitiness and cherry lollipops.  Soft on the vanilla bean, yet not so soft on freshly cut lumber.  Hints of mint and rye here and there.  Ah, the vanilla does get louder with time and the fresh lumber turns to dusty wood beams (pun unintended).  Wood, cherry juice, and cinnamon red hots take up dominate the palate at first, though it's not as sweet as those notes suggest.  On the second sip, I find some nice MGP-like rye notes to go with the fruit.  Ginger beer.  It does get sweeter with time.  The finish begins mildly sweet with cherry candy things. Toasted and charred oak alternating.  Some salt, some orange peel.  Like the palate it gets sweeter with time, but also oakier.  Lots of heat.

WITH WATER (~45-50%abv)
Nuts in caramel in the nose.  Sawdust and salty vanilla (if that's a thing).  The palate is sweet and spicy.  Woody around the edges.  Very Beam.  The palate gets aggressively sweet and woody.

Firstly, it was much better at 60%abv than at the lower ABV of its stable mates.  Secondly, it needs to breathe because it's hot and closed when it first hits the glass.  After that, nothing really offends.  I like the fruity notes and the rye moments.  Otherwise the oak takes front stage.  So if you're oak phobic then this isn't for you.  But then again, if you're oak phobic you probably want to stay away from bourbon in general, especially older ones at high strength.

I like this much more than the Knob Creek rye because that one felt half-baked.  If anything, this one might be over-baked.  But again, this isn't bad at the $30-$35 range, if it's priced above that then it's out of its league.  If you're looking for something cheaper, less oaky, and milder then I recommend its cousin Jim Beam Black in 8yo form.

Availability - This barrel was only sold at The Party Source, other non-private selection Knob Creek single barrels are sold at probably all specialty liquor retailers in the US

Pricing - $30-$60

Rating - 80

NOT Single Malt Report: Knob Creek Rye

Transitioning now from one of the smaller players to one of the biggest players in the American whiskey game...

Beam Inc's Knob Creek Rye.

Yes, you're not imagining things; there have been a lot of Beam products in my reports so far this year.  Aside from maybe one more, I have no plans to review additional Beam whiskies over the next two months.  Though I can't promise the same silence for their parent company's, Suntory's, goodies...

Oh, and may I just mention the news that Mila Kunis has been hired as the face of Jim Beam?  And a nice face it is.  Here she is going for the Marion Cotillard look:

So there you have it, a Ukrainian Jewish woman representing an American whiskey producer owned by a Japanese company.  Globalization does birth something pleasant from time to time.

Anyway, back to Knob Creek Rye.  Wow, everything is downhill after her.  Knob Creek.  It's technically made from the same mash bill (51% rye) as Jim Beam Rye, Old Overholt, and the discontinued (rî)1.  Interestingly, with (rî)1's demise, Knob Creek Rye was introduced into the market at the same price point, with no age statement but a higher proof (100).

words words words words words words pink elephant bumblebee carrots.  You're not even reading this, are you?  You're looking at her pictures.  Okay, you can catch up when you're ready.

My experience with the Beam ryes is limited to Old Overholt, which I've found inoffensive on its own and serviceable in a cocktail.  This is an unusual moment wherein I know a company's bourbons better than their ryes.  This is an attempt to correct that.

Here's the mini, which is in fact a miniature version of the regular bottle.

Brand: Knob Creek

Owner: Beam, Inc.
Type: Straight Rye Whiskey
Region: Clermont, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Maturation: new American white oak

Age: NAS
Release Year: the mini was bottled in August 2012

Alcohol by Volume: 50%

NEAT
The color is bronze.  The nose starts with indoor swimming pools and ham.  Then stewed prunes and wood varnish.  It's a little sugary, and seems cornier than rye-ish.  "Orange chicken" sauce (must be the corn syrup) with hazelnuts.  The palate is very dry and hot.  Oats and cream of wheat.  Toasted almonds and hints of rye seeds.  Then clay, yeast, and stale dried herbs.  Finally something...let's call it hazelnut turpentine.  The rye notes show up stronger in the finish as sweet baking spices.  Then toffee and vanilla.  Then the yeast.  Then polenta.  And it all fades abruptly.

That was weird.

WITH WATER (approx 43% ABV)
The nose sort of straightens itself out.  Floral perfume notes meet cut wood.  Then cotton candy; actually lots of sugary candy.  Play-Doh and something acrylic.  With some air: overripe strawberries starting to go rank.  Lots of hot cereal in the palate, again.  Hot Old Overholt.  Hot plain rye.  Slightly savory and a little salt.  Oooh, here comes the Play-Doh.  Pepper notes grow with time.  Some of that pepper carries over into the short finish, topped by a hint of fruity sugars.

This is not a thinker's rye.  This is not a rye to be analyzed.  And I'm trying to figure out if this is a rye to be drunk.  Served neat, the nose is schizophrenic, the palate is somehow both young and plain, and the finish is almost interesting and then it disappears.  With some water, the nose improves but the palate and finish do not.

I had a difficult time finishing my 50mL of this rye and it wasn't because I was too busy searching for Mila Kunis pics.  At the $40-$45 range this stuff is competing with Willett and High West, a matchup that ends more lopsided than Sunday's Super Bowl.  Honestly, I now have little interest in exploring Beam's ryes further.

Availability - Most liquor specialists

Pricing - $30-$50

Rating - 72