Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon

This was one of the rare bottles that peaked the night I opened it. Mine was a Barrel pick that I sampled in store. It was amazing. The night I opened this, it was better than I remembered. In the weeks that followed it never measured up again. It had an overpowering ethanol flavor. I opened up a knob creek 12 year today and I think it will be much more up my alley. At only 100 proof and three additional years age, I think it’s the sweet spot for the knob creek flavor profile. I normally like higher proof bourbon s but this one fell short. Ill try this again some day and maybe have a better experience.

Maple syrup and vanilla on the nose. A long, warming finish with slight oakiness and vanilla.

Mink’s private

Smells of row and row of dusty, burnt wooden barrels that were recently sanitized with a no frills astringent cleaner, and taste of dark cherry chocolate that finishes for days as the flavors spiral down into vanilla with a twist of orange. Strap on your tough kid shoes; this bottle wants to fight 🥊

I spotted this for $50 at my local Safeway and decided to give it a try because I enjoy Knob Creek 12 so much, and because I had a really outstanding Bookers recently - the Tagalong. $50 for what is arguably an older single barrel Bookers store pick? I mean, it seems too good to be true. Well, it is true! This is fantastic stuff for my palate. I don't get any of the intense Beam peanut. This thing is a cherry bomb through and through and in a blind I'd guess it was a Stagg Jr. Nose is very fruit forward, with shadings of wood spice. Palate is a surge of cherry - Luden's cherry - with spice that may just be from the heat. The finish is more of the same, a lingering cherry with tingling heat that slowly fades. I love cherry notes in bourbon, so this is a dream come true for me. I compared it to a Bookers Tagalong I have that I also think is fantastic. They're very different. The nose on the Tagalong is pretty muted, but leans towards oak and spice notes. Palate on the Bookers is more layered and complex, with the same oak and spice plus a tiny hint of cherry and that alcoholic tingle. Choosing between the two is tough. I love cherry so I think the KB wins out and the nose on the KB is much more assertive. But the Bookers' layers and complexity would possibly elevate it in the eyes of reviewers who aren't cherry fiends like me. No losers here, they're both excellent. Really glad I took a shot at this. For $50, the QPR is spectacular and I understand that these are relatively common. This will not be the last one I get. Note - this is a Safeway Northern California store pick, Warehouse Q, 9 Years and 7 months.