Knob Creek 12 Year Small Batch Bourbon

Deep oak and caramel with an exceptionally smooth finish.

Nose: Caramel, Vanilla Palate: Oak Finish: Spice

Leathery and woody, rich and warm.

(#3) Fellow Distiller WhiskeyLonghorn recently posted his top 5 Whiskeys of 2020 and I thought it was such a great idea that I'm stealing it. To qualify, a whiskey did not need to be new, just new to me in 2020...so there will be some tried and true staples mixed in with the new releases on my list. I was able to narrow my list of 14 possibilities to 7 fairly quickly, but going from 7 to 5 proved a little tougher. Honorable Mentions will make an appearance after Whiskey #1. I won't bore you with a full re-review of each, but will give an overall impression. Should you want to read the full review, you shouldn't have to scroll too deeply in my tastes to find them. So...without further ado, I present my Number 3 Whiskey of 2020... Knob Creek 12 Year My one surprise when completing my Top 5 was the presence of 2 (Spoiler Alert) Beam Bourbons (3 if you count Maker's Mark 101). I tend to overlook Beam products for normal everyday sippers, but I'm always reminded how much I like Beam when it has some extended age or extra finishing. Those seem to either compliment or diminish the Funky Peanut I get from their standard releases. To that end, 2020 was a banner year for their Knob Creek Line. The Small Batch saw the return of the 9 Year age statement. Their Single Barrel store picks continued to make waves. There was the much ballyhooed 15 Year release, and the one that came in Number 3 on my list, KC12. I called it Simple, but not subtle. A Jackhammer to the palate. The perfect balance between Oaky and Astringent. Drank like a Barrel Proof with a Man-Sized KY Hug. Yes...I'd say that 2020 marked the return of Knob Creek. I can count on 1 finger the number of NAS Small Batch bottles I purchased after they dropped the 9 Year age statement, but now I always have a bottle of KC9 open and will snatch up the 12 year every time I see it.

Spicy

Smooth for 100 proof. Notes of vanilla and deep oak. Finish almost tastes like bbq brisket.