Tastes

I am very excited to revisit this technically different version of Knob Creek's single barrel cask strength bourbon, now just over 6 years since I first discovered it. The last bottle I had was engraved and had my wife and I's fingerprints on the wax top, and that was back before the new labels were created. We vowed to only drink this special bottle on our anniversary and no other Knob Creek products in the meantime, until our bottle was empty; as of last month, we finally unlocked the ability to revisit the brand. Distiller lists this as a different product than what I had before, although I recall the proof and age being the same, but I truthfully don't remember the stats of my older bottle. Either way, I am looking forward to treating this as an entirely new product anyway, and I'm so excited to finally come back to it, because 120 proof is an excellent proof, and a 9 year bourbon is absolutely unheard of in this current market (well, unless you're a Buffalo Trace "hunter" that chases 10+ year aged products for hundreds of dollars and a massive waste of time), both of which are found at a very attractive price point here. I would love it if the particular barrel stats and info were listed on the bottle, as this is such an easy piece of information to give to provide a much higher collector value to your single barrel products, but I digress. The color is a healthy chestnut brown, not much darker than similar whiskeys aged just a few years less, but noticeable if compared side-by-side. The nose is rich with light caramel, toffee, saltines, and a salty brine. Lesser notes include a bit of lemon zest, cocoa, peanuts, and a bit of lavender. The ethanol is very plain and not at all aggressive, which is surprising for this level. I don't normally like heavily specific tasting or smelling notes, but these honestly jump out to me quickly at this specificity compared to similar American whiskeys (with no additives or barrel finishings), which I think speak to both the professionalism and heritage of the Jim Beam product line. The toffee and caramel flavors are tasted almost immediately when the liquid hits the tongue. A spice begins to build that's mostly from the high proof, but also has easily distinguishable rye, which comes through as flavors of cinnamon, freshly cut grass, and red berries, while penetrating a medium amount through the gums. The finish begins to get a bit dry and nutty, while having a slight citrus note that doesn't quite swell, nor does it go away. Repeated sips do bring about that saltiness that was on the nose, but it's faint and doesn't get in the way of the other flavors. I would like to say this is underwhelming, but that would only be because of my own internally high expectations. This is a fine expression of cask strength/high proof bourbon, although I don't taste flavors or a body that would indicate 9 years of age, which should be pretty noticeable amongst a 4 year or less average in the current American whiskey market. Of course, with big distilleries having flagship products with similar ages (Bulleit, Wild Turkey, etc), it's not unexpectedx for Jim Beam to produce plenty of product lines with age options, but it's a little disappointing to see a single barrel variant amongst those options that doesn't quite stand out as much as the potential says it could. I'd love to try the lower proof batched bourbon from the Knob Creek line as a comparison, because I don't see myself returning to an unlabeled single barrel expression if the flavor alone can't justify the higher cost compared to the batched bourbon.

Ah, Knob Creek, one of the more special relationships I have to a brand. Technically speaking, I haven't had anything other than a particular "anniversary" bottle of their single barrel bourbon since 2017. After my wife and I made a hand-bottled, hand-stamped, engraved bottle of said bourbon our wedding and subsequent anniversary beverage, we swore off all Knob Creek products until that bottle was emptied (except the maple, because duh, and we agreed it "didn't count") . Now, 6 years later, I'm happy to swipe most of the shelf of one of my local liquor stores, and try some more of the brand that basically started it all, as far as our love of spirits. Timing worked out pretty well, too, since the rye age statement just dropped earlier this year. It's certainly not shocking that Jim Beam can produce such a large quantity of one of their more "upscale" brands, but it is surprising that they continue to sell and price it at such an affordable value. This is especially true given our current saturated market of American whiskey, where I'd wager to say at least 75% of rye whiskeys made here are less than 6 years aged. Leave it to the Beam's to dominate the market as far as variety, and with a mid-range proof on top of it all, I feel the Knob Creek line is still doing just fine. The color is fairly dull given the higher age, with more yellow notes than gold. The nose is full of light caramel, faint baking spice (ginger heavy), candied/sweet lemon and orange peel, black cherry, and florality/minerality notes that I can't quite pick out... Is this... Is this an Old Fashioned, somehow? The proof is just right in that it's easy to return for multiple, full inhales, but still delivers that bite inside the nose each time. Intitial flavors include barrel caramel and some raw malt, but develop pretty quickly into the citrus oil from the nose, alongside some grassy and almost earthy notes of the base rye grain. The body is light enough that the building sweetness doesn't feel overpowering or "sticky." A touch of cinnamon is found near the finish, but slightly more powerful, like it has a kick of capsaicin to it. The finish itself falls away a little too quick, and the spiciness from the rye doesn't get too far in the gums, so there's nothing here to really chew on. During my first few sips of this, I thought it was amazing, and most definitely one of my more top-end rye whiskeys. As I continued to drink, however, I thought that, although the flavor and potential is definitely there, perhaps I was simply drinking it incorrectly. Given the higher-than-average age and medium proof, I feel this may be one of those rarer whiskeys that I prefer over ice, as the flavors found while drinking neat weren't powerful enough to last, and fell off the deeper into the glass I went. Nonetheless, for this price point and the unique tastes as compared to most other American whiskeys, not to mention the ability to purchase this almost anywhere (even in Ohio!), it showcases that Knob Creek is still one of Jim Beams best "side brands," and further explains why it's so easy to fall in love with them in the first place.

One of my coworkers bravely risked bringing several bottles of this back from his recent trip to Japan, despite the wrath and common incompetency of the TSA. I haven't had but a glass or two here and there of Japanese whisky, so I'm quite ignorant on any of the country's or region's specific nuances. This particular bottle confused me for a while, as I didn't know how to best record it on Distiller. The appearance of the bottle and most of the label seem like that of the Distiller's Reserve, but these words are nowhere on the bottle or box, even after translating the Japanese text. Further research shows that Suntory only released 2 different 100th anniversary variants of The Yamazaki, a 12 year and an 18 year, whereas neither age statement appears anywhere on this labeling. Because, by all accounts, this could potentially be a different product, I added it with the 100th anniversary edition labeling, even though this is likely a regional or language difference on the packaging. Despite all this, I'm hopeful to see how The Yamazaki really stacks up, as it's one of Suntory's biggest money maker products, if not the overall ringer. As is almost universally the case, being rare or expensive does not guarantee that it's good, and this gets no quarter just for being hard to find or deeply overpriced. Nonetheless, with almost no knowledge of Japanese whisky to go off of, and almost no idea of exactly what this product is, the door is wide open for the possibilities. I've always found European and the very few Asian whiskys that I've had to have a very light color, no matter how long they've been aged, likely due to the use of secondary barreling as opposed to most American whiskeys. Still, the gold hue to this product is slightly more aggressive and almost darker than most other eastern whiskys that I've had, which increases the interest since the age of this isn't quite known. Even though the proof is very light, the ethanol carries the slightly sour malt to the nose with a decent concentration to it. The sourness is the most prominent (like from a green apple), with very small notes of charcoal, honey, toffee, caramel, biscuit, and vanilla behind it, but nothing quite jumping out past the sour. The initial flavor is malty with a touch of bitterness, similar to the flavor of charcoal filtered American whiskeys. Honey is tasted shortly after this, with a nice balance of floral notes alongside it, almost specifically some honeysuckle. Some light toffee, biscuit, vanilla, and caramel are trying to interject, but the sweetness isn't able to get through, leaving the malt to come back on the finish with a bit more bitterness and a dry body. The proof remains low enough to continue sipping without pause, but the flavors continue pushing hard like spirits of 110 proof or more usually do. I will say this: although I have not had much in the way of Japanese whisky, I have had a good share of single malt whisky to compare it to, mostly from Europe. However, since most of the European single malt that I purchase is heavily peated, it takes away from the flavors of just the base grain. This may be the first, or perhaps just the best, painted picture of a single malt whiskey that I've had so far, with the grain flavors being prominent, concentrated, yet still approachable. I know that Suntory treats The Yamazaki as it's "white glove" distillery, but I refuse to believe that a similar flavor can't be achieved by other single malt distillers worldwide, and for a much cheaper price tag. Like most rarities and the brands that produce them, it's never worth hunting for, let alone going through the secondary or tertiary markets that are usually the only outlets for such products. As is most important, though, the taste is delicious and is a welcome return when I have a single malt desire, but I won't treat this as a treasure, and will add it to and drink it from my collection as any good enthusiast should.

Proof: 101.6 Alc./Vol.: 50.8% Bottled: 2023 A gift from my stepfather-in-law for my anniversary, which is definitely the kind of gifts I prefer no matter the occasion. I remember having TX bourbon for the first time many years ago when I was first getting into spirit tasting and thinking it was one of the absolute sweetest bourbons I've ever had. I didn't particularly love it, but I definitely kept coming back to it for the natural sweetness that other distilleries could never get close to. Fast forward to now and there are now more distilleries than ever, and a lot more options than there ever have been, no matter what flavor profile(s) you're looking for. However, I still think classic TX bourbon is still one of the top 3 sweetest expressions for a fairly young bourbon, which is awesome to compare alongside a rye-based bourbon with very spicy notes, in order to assist people in detecting sweet versus spicy in bourbon nuances. The barrel finishing series is always a fun way to play with those base flavors of the bourbon, especially because you can only make so many changes to keep the title. Out of the 3 available barrel finished products this distillery produces, I would have been most excited to try the port variant, but certainly least excited for the sherry one, so this meets a perfect middle. The proof is a little low to fully benefit from and to dissect all flavors from a second barrel, but still high enough that it should be easily distinguishable from the classic bourbon. I've never been a fan of missing age statements (either the base age or the finishing time) from the bottle, especially when you involve a second cask, and the bottle date of just "2023" disconnects the customer from the personal side of the distillery (especially since this is the only barrel finished variant that uses an abysmal 2 year aged base spirit with no listed timeline), but I'm curious nonetheless how Texas does barrel finished whiskey. The color is quite dark considering the very low age time, with the caramel-walnut shade likely being attributed to the longest barrel finishing time of any of the barrel finished variants from this distillery. The sweet corn and cracked wheat are simple and lead the scent (but are very young and underdeveloped due to the short age time), but the musty grape from the cognac combine well alongside it. Sub-notes of cherry, coffee fruit, and honey are found on the semi-potent nose of ethanol. The body is watery but still has a bite to it, with initial flavors of honey and cherry, but isn't overly sweet or fruity. The cherry develops into a chocolatey cherry cordial flavor, with the gums getting a bit of a numb from the proof. This burn stops at the gums, however, as the back of the mouth and throat seem to pick up on the soft wheat body. The same flavors linger for quite some time, but the extended finish does introduce a bit of a floral, honey, yeasty flavor alongside all of the above. The biggest worry I had with this was that the short age time would cause the corn and wheat to taste too aggressive and overshadow the cognac barrel notes. Although this did not happen, this fairly tasty product would without a doubt be improved by no less than 3-4 more years of initial aging, and about 5-10 more proof points. Having said that, the cognac really is detected here, and very distinguishable from the regular bourbon. Given the low distribution and high cost, I would not purchase this again until the age and proof were attended to as described, but if you really, absolutely need to see what Texas and all of their possible ingredients are capable of, AND you want something special that isn't the TX bourbon or blended whiskey, this is probably one of your best choices, provided you like cognac as well.

Now isn't this a delightful product for the rye lover. Several years ago I switched gears from collecting primarily bourbon to rye whiskey, mostly for the spicier, more savory flavor, but also since the rye grain requires far less age time to mellow out (compared to corn), not to mention the wretched market of bourbon right now (and for the foreseeable future). Out of the many spirits that I've seen, this has got to be the first marketed and distributed bourbon with the minimum corn amount, regardless of what the other grains are. In this case, I love the addition of the malted rye, presumably as a stand-in for the barley to assist in the distilling process. With 6 years aged to boot, it's a great balance between not too long for the rye to preserve some of the aggressive spiciness, but on the minimum side of long enough to mellow and sweeten the more stubborn corn. And 109 proof? All signs point to a good bottle, with a good body, and a good price (except for my usual shop asking $10 over MSRP). Nothing too abnormal for the color, although it does look a tad bit darker for only 6 years. The deeper chestnut brown displays a lot of swirling oil in the glass, making me think there's a possibility that smaller volume barrels were used, which would also explain the enhanced hue. The rye is prominent on the nose, but not the only note showcased, as the expected cinnamon and grass combine with saltines, toffee, and a LOT of vanilla. The proof is perfect, as there's just enough ethanol to keep you aware of the hotter body, but not enough to force the nose to pull away. Speaking of body, it starts off a little watery, but starts to warm up fairly quickly. The flavor turns sweet before it turns spicy, with caramel sauce (like that really sweet drizzle from Starbucks) combining alongside so much vanilla that I'm not sure I would think this was an unflavored whiskey if I was blind tasting. There is a spiciness that follows this, but it's balanced between flavors from the rye and the higher proof, so it's hard to really narrow this down. Small profiles of florality and dryness come around after this, but the finish swings the sweetness back around, yet remains balanced amongst all other surviving flavors. This isn't what I thought I would get from a "highest rye" bourbon, but it's certainly a unique flavor that is quite hard to rival with the small wiggle room that bourbon allows. I always thought George Remus was a MGP product, and it may still be, since conflicting sources point to Ross & Squibb, but that redirects to MGP, and then sometimes with claims that George Remus is it's own distillery... Regardless, this is a fun bottle for MSRP, and nice to see it more widely distributed and available since it comes from such a large brand. I would love to see this same mash bill with at least double the age statement, as I think these particular percentages meld well and would only break down into more concise profiles with longer time in the barrel. Even if such a product were to be made, it wouldn't be possible to buy in this market anyway, so I encourage enjoying this for what it is and when you find it.

Always fun to see another release from this brand, even if the brand itself seems to be turning into more of a ghost with each passing release. This time around, I couldn't find a distilling location, but found 2 different bottling locations. On top of that, I barely found the Black Noise playlist (that historically has been released for every batch on Blackened's website), opting for a less-than-official looking Spotify playlist of a few recycled songs. Still, as always, the harsh riffs from one of the greatest metal bands in the world (playing loudly in the background on this beautiful Metal Monday) help to excite me further for my first cask strength treatment of the original American whiskey blend that started it all. It's also nice to see that the MSRP was very affordable for this market, with my particular store always having to get something more, and charging $1 more than said MSRP in this case. The color is an almost vibrant burnt sienna/orange/brown, but lighter than expected for a more potent cask strength at this ABV. Then again, this brand never really was a fan for releasing age statements (as is unfortunately too common in today's whiskey world), so the lighter hue could be a result of a young spirit. The nose starts off quite sweet, with notes of caramel, nouget, and slight milk chocolate, before bringing in some lighter notes of florality, citrus zest, and a touch of mixed berries. The proof comes around for a slight burn after a few more whiffs, but also brings along some classic cracked cinnamon notes found in a proper rye whiskey. The body is initially quite light, but the caramel and nouget from before are the first to make an appearance. The heat is cranked up pretty quick, with some spicy cinnamon and chocolate battling it out amongst the now hot palate. The brandy barrel has always been a nice choice for this blend, as it imparts both sweetness and a drier florality to the already well-blended mix of sweet bourbon and spicy rye. In this cask strength case, the brandy is a far more pronounced flavor, and takes the sweetness tasted up to this point and introduces some dryness (with a hint of raisin) and some light florality. The finish continues in this direction, with the proof still keeping things hot, but not much gum penetration here. Where the proofed down original Blackened is a delicious, fun, and unique American whiskey that is easy for beginners to dissect, this is the cliché "big brother" that gives acclimated enjoyers a chance to pull apart the more raw, aggressive notes. Think of it like Metallica's unedited, raw, unreleased, or demo tracks; for some it's not as easy to listen or connect to, but for others, it's a glimpse into a more real side of these musicians. For the price, it's not only a tasty buy, but it doesn't make me shy away from buying one of the other volumes and trying to compare the tasted differences. I don't believe we'll see any other big moves from this brand, though, since production and new products have already started to slow after the monstrous success has started to spill over; the one-time-only Metallica cigar creation shows the band is just throwing money at different avenues in order to find their next venture. Still, Blackened will always be the most unique finishing method ever seen on the market, whether you love or hate the music. The simple, not-so-deep tracks playing in the background while drinking this sort-of throwback whiskey says it all: Metallica and whiskey both show that even some of the new stuff can be winners, but there is always going to be a sweet spot for that old familiarity.

Wow, a bottle of Booker's in Ohio? Maybe things really are changing... Or not. $10 over MSRP secured this bottle, which, although infuriating, isn't as high a markup as almost most other allocated bottles (which seem like most bottles in this state), and it's already hard to find Booker's as it is, even in other states. Jim Beam really should produce more of this, but then it wouldn't quite be the Booker's experience. However, if it weren't for my already strong connection to the Beam brand, I'd write this off as a near impossible-to-acquire "Buffalo Trace" type sales gimmick. Still, I've always thought Booker's to be the ultimate "concentrated" bourbon, giving the most flavor for quite the mild amount of total aging. A particular distillery in Newport, KY seems to be the craft equivalent of this, the grandchild to what Booker's has mastered over the many years of their similar, yet noticeably different batch blends. I've always loved the stories that accompany each batch, but I especially love the simplicity and family ties that this particular batch cites, while still exciting me for classic Booker's, cask-strength, concentrated whiskey flavors. The batch notes mention one of the darkest colors in a Booker's batch (if not the darkest, it wasn't specifically spelled out), and I must agree that the deep burnt sienna reflects the brand line quite well, and is slightly darker than some other memorable batches. The nose is not as powerful as the ABV would have you suspect, but has prominent notes of a salty, briny savoriness; reminds me greatly of the country hams Booker Noe is known to mention. Beneath this there is the familiar tobacco that Booker's is known for, with more classic barrel flavors (chocolate, vanilla, and caramel, in that order, for this case) finishing it off. The body starts off light, but also delivers flavors of saltiness from before, albeit not as focused. Chocolate and toffee spin up after this, with the spicy body beginning to really burn up the palate and gums shortly afterwards. The finish is certainly hot, and even a bit dry, and although it's iconic for the Booker's brand, is honestly a little light and flat for the usual expectations. A small amount of nuttiness and an even smaller note of cinnamon both arise after a few more sips and some development time. Ah, Booker's. I said it up front and it's almost entirely proven after this batch: although expectations were technically met here, at the end of the day it's an overpriced, underproduced bourbon that, with just a bit of research, can be rivaled without breaking the bank. The stories are fun, the box is a great decoration, and the over-specificity of the blending percentages are all very unique, but those are all pieces that should be part of competitive marketing, whereas with this brand, it continuously feels like these are all costs that are passed along to the customer in a fairly unfair manner, instead of just letting the whiskey speak for itself. If you've not had a bottle of Booker's before, I would without a doubt recommend you go for it (at MSRP, of course), especially because the differences between each batch are usually very minute. However, it you've had one or two and are chasing the single barrel spread on your shelf, I would choose a different, more affordable and available brand to chase.

To round out my final signed buy from this distillery, I saved the most interesting for last. With so little information available and a lot of those sources seemingly just as confused, I'm expecting extremes from this product; either it's going to shock me as the best Limestone Branch whiskey, or it's going to easily mark itself as a cash grab and a disappointment. The idea of a historically recreated/restored yeast strain from earlier family generations is very cool, but doesn't really translate to the consumer the same way the distillery family employees see it. As a 6 year bourbon with only a slightly higher proof than the traditional Yellowstone bourbon, the expectations are that the flavor is noticeably better, or at least significantly different, because creating your own exclusivity and passing on an exuberant up-marking to the consumer over a different yeast strain is an embarrassing way to field more money. The color is quite light, despite having a familiar caramel hue behind it, which is shocking for a mid-proof whiskey, and a not-small amount of aging time. The nose only very lightly fills the room, and it's mostly ethanol and just a touch of oak. Up close, the oak is prominent, but has heavy notes like that of a toasted barrel, including citrus, tropical fruit, and specifically banana. There's not much else here, other than a balanced ethanol that brings out even more oak, although this time dry and almost "green." The body has a nice spice and a balanced ethanol burn to it, with initial flavors providing that same "toasted barrel" profile, with flavors of light, oily citrus, with a small hint of florality alongside it. Some chocolate starts to sneak up, which highlights orange oil as one of the specific citrus flavors, providing a very nice flavor combination. The rye grain starts to provide a tiny bit of cinnamon, but this time far more grass than the original Yellowstone Select, further securing a profile not unlike certain popular toasted or French oak bourbons on the market, but noticeably younger with a focus on raw corn for the finish. Alright, so, for me, this is quite tasty and highlights a lighter spectrum of the Yellowstone bourbon line unlike any of their other current offerings. Oddly enough, the actual toasted oak finish Yellowstone was the most recent one I sampled, but pales in comparison to the desired flavors that I found in this bottle. Then again, there really was no expectation for this product, since, by the sound of it, there is likely nobody left alive that experienced such an old yeast strain, or the whiskey(s) it was used in. Still, it's fun to showcase and sample similar whiskeys with different yeast strains used, since I've encountered plenty of whiskeys that have every other component right on paper as far as what I like, but the yeast is the only thing that kills it, showcasing the make-or-break importance. I would definitely enjoy purchasing this again, but would only really want to spend this amount of money again on a single barrel version, and would want the batched version (this one) to be almost half the price next to it, especially if they're going to make it a semi-permanent, yearly release. Furthermore, I feel the distillery missed a great opportunity to brand this whiskey as a brand new product, considering the history and amount that was changed just over the yeast strain alone. With the distillery named Limestone Branch, but with all the products having no such name or resemblance and the Yellowstone line especially having too many variants already, this could have been the first new product to launch a higher end of whiskey products, or at least another stand-alone line next to the already standing alone Minor Case. Speaking of which, knowing that Minor Case is the distillery's only permanent rye whiskey, it showcases that, although great new whiskeys CAN be produced by this distillery, maybe something like this Family Recipe would be better off as a special edition, only-sold-at-the-distillery-occasionally type of expression.

Barrel number: 13/30 Signed by Master Distiller Stephan B. Beam Second to last bottle that was picked up from my recent trip to this distillery is their entry into the toasted finish realm; toasted finishes have recently gained lots of traction, although feels more like a temporary fad. I can't remember if I tried it on-site, but wanted to pick it up mostly for the support, the higher proof, the choice to do it as a single barrel, and, certainly not least of all, after finding out that the finish in toasted barrels was somewhere between 3 and 4 YEARS. I'm not sure if that applies to just this barrel, but this is by far the longest I have ever heard of a toasted barrel finish, the most of which may have been 12 months prior to this. I didn't like the other entry on Distiller, as it was missing some data and appeared less professional. The color appears slightly darker than the standard Yellowstone product, but negligible next to some of the Hand Picked Collection bottles at the higher proof point. Despite spending all that extra time in a second barrel, the fact that second barrel was only toasted and not charred explains why the color didn't quite deepen too much. There's a light yet potent ethanol scent when far away from the glass, but no other notes are discernable from this far distance. Up close, caramel is quite prominent, as well as notes of honey, candied nuts, and even a bit of cocoa. The overall nose is definitely sweet, but the ethanol is powerful enough to balance this and prevent any kind of dominance. The initial body is very light with slight flavors of citrus, but transforms rather quickly into flavors of cinnamon, chocolate, and those aforementioned candied nuts, but all tastes blend together in the end with no individual notes allowed to shine. The finish has a touch of nuttiness, with a lesser note of citrus and florality, and an overall dry and light tasting body. Strangely enough, the proof attacks the palate after the finish, charging the tongue and gums with a spiciness that is several minutes too late. The extra finishing time in the toasted barrel absolutely locks in this whiskey as a perfect representation of the flavors a toasted barrel can give you, all the while building off a balanced base bourbon that's approachable by most audiences. The issue for me is that this takes away from the more aggressive, spicier notes of the base whiskey, ending up with a final taste that I'm not fond of. The toasted barrel provides a lighter body with notes of citrus, florality, and nuttiness, but without the added softness and sweetness of a wheated bourbon (which I also am not fond of). Still, as always, it's great to support this distillery, and I'll be excited to return to this bottle for follow-up tastes and cocktail experiments, especially if/when the distillery adds this offering to their website, along with cocktail recipes straight from the source (fingers crossed). Plus, the deep brown label contrasts the gold text beautifully, and looks great next to some of the other Yellowstone product color schemes.