Tastes

Made in NC from a wheated mash bill. You get typical corn sweetness, butterscotch, caramel, lots of oak. Thick and clingy mouthfeel. This is surprisingly good considering the age. You can tell that this is young, but every batch gets better. The quality is definitely there.

My batch is a combination of 7-11 year old whisky aged in various Bourbon, Sherry, Bordeaux, and virgin oak casks. Tried Neat in a Glencairn glass. Appearance: Pale straw with thick, clingy slow moving legs. Nose: A lot going on here. Crisp. Honey sweetness, sea breeze, wildflowers, freshly steeped tea, fresh cream, buttered popcorn, hints of sherry and port wine, old wood and some light lemon oil. A hint of smoke and a hit of alcohol to remind you that it is 100 proof. Neat: You get a spicy tingle from the high proof until your palate adjusts. Honey sweet on entry. Malted barley (which my palate transmits to my brain as leathery), lemon peel, champagne, sherry. Every so often I get a hint of the taste of novocaine, like when you get a numbing shot at the dentist. The mouthfeel is oily and coating. It coats the palate in honey sweetness, char/smoke, and a numbing tingle. Very interesting and enjoyable combination of flavors. There is a very nice lingering smoky aftertaste that hints at peat but doesn't quite get there. It's almost like it absorbed some peat by pulling in some of the "Angels' Share" from some peated barrels in close proximity. Splash: A few drops of water gave the nose an earthy/grassy/herbal note. Really makes the sherry notes pop and dials back the tingle a bit. Amplifies the smokiness on the finish. Be careful, though. There is a fine line. A few drops too many and the malty sweetness hogs the stage. Verdict: I don’t drink scotch all that often, but this one definitely belongs in my rotation with Lap10, Highland Park 12, and Lagavulin 16. I really like the transparency of this distillery. The Scotch Geeks among us are sure to like the fact that you can enter your batch on their website and see exactly what went into it , how old it is, and what it was aged in.

Interesting flavor profile. Unique blend of spices. Almost drinks like a high proof pre bottled cocktail. I use this one a lot in the summer when I am entertaining my cocktail loving family and friends. Great for a two ingredient mixed drink since it brings so many flavors aboard. Great with cola, lemon lime soda, or orange soda (tastes just like a creamsicle).

I saw that 60 Minutes was doing a piece on Islay last night, so I thought I 'd have a healthy pour of Laphroaig 10 while I watched. I normally use a glencairn for scotch, but decided to do a small rocks glass instead. I found that doing so cut down on some of the more medicinal/chemical notes (iodine, band aid, etc) and highlighted the more natural notes like campfire, seaweed (which I didn't get much of before), and freshly turned earth. A great creamy, buttery sweetness in the mid palate with a smokey menthol coating finish. I could drink this every day and never get bored.

I was gifted a bottle of this...my first NAS sample of Knob Creek. Knob Creek has been my go-to "dining out bourbon" simply because I think that it is very good served on the rocks and serves as most chain restaurants' (Outback, Carabas, etc) top shelf pour. The oak profile on the 9 year old version always manages to stand up to dilution and make for a great sipper. How does the NAS fair? Let's see... Nose: The notes from the 9 year are there, just fainter than I remember. Cinnamon, vanilla, and oak. I'm worried when I detect a note of peanut...something I didn't get from this one before, and something I don't care for in younger Beam. Neat: The Cinnamon, vanilla and oak from the nose are there. The peanut as well, but not like I get from White Label or Bonded. Again, I don't recall getting that from the 9yr. A pleasant warming on the finish with the cinnamon and oak hanging out on the palate. Rocks: This is the test (for me at least). Will the oak that I really liked in the age stated punch through the dilution of the ice melt? On the rocks everything becomes muted. The oak is there, but also muted. Verdict: The loss of an age statement seems to have hurt the Knob Creek more than it has hurt most. To me, the more time in the barrel that Beam products can get, the better. That 9yr seemed to be the sweet spot. This was a rare bottle purchase for me before (so many better options at less than the $40 it commands) and I don't see myself buying it at all now that it is NAS. I think I'm going to have to switch to WT101 as my "dining out bourbon". It seems to handle the ice melt better than the NAS Knob Creek. THREE & A QUARTER stars from me.