Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel Reserve

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.

After you get past the high proof the sweetness and warmth take over. Great winter sipper.