Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon

Nose - mashed up cherries / oak Taste -spicy peppery / Finish - natural mint gum /pepper / long and oily

Kenwood - Homer Glen, IL

Great Lakes Single Barrel Society pick. Cinnamon and oaky awesomeness. With Matt L and @Zslug

This was a single barrel store pick by Orange County NC, and is the best bourbon I've had so far. The standard Single Barrel Select is 9 years, this barrel was 15 years and 1 month old. I wasn't the biggest fan of Knob Creek Small Batch, this is miles better by comparison and only $13 more. I think the age completely mellows out the harsh nose and taste I got from the Small Batch. This is incredibly drinkable for 120 proof. Huge brown sugar and oak notes on the nose. Maybe some berries and caramel, but it's a brown sugar/oak bomb and you need a good nose to pick out the rest. It is sweet and delicious on the tongue. Not sickly sweet, the dessert spice and oak balances the brown sugar/caramel sweetness to perfection. I also taste more stewed dark fruits than what I smelled. Oak and alcohol are most prominent on the finish. It lingers for a long time and turns to toffee, spice, and a little tobacco or vegetal. I saw a review on WhiskeyJug describing one of his KC SiB Select bottles as creme brulee, and I think that describes this well. It's a classic example of what I think bourbon should taste like. As a high proof/cask strength bourbon (>55%), I like it more than these I've had in the last year: Elijah Craig, Old Grand Dad, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey, Russell's Reserve, 1792, and Old Forester. At $50 it's hard to think of a better buy when you consider how many unique single barrels you can try. Barreled 02-11-2004, Bottled 03-11-2019, Orange County ABC Batch No. 1, Warehouse W-X, Floor F-04, Rick R-033

(Primarily for my own records. Probably a useless review outside of the Phoenix AZ area) Barrel #6658 “Selected by Will Simpson for Sonata’s restaurant”. Confirmed with KC that was barreled in 2004, making this a 14 yr old pick. Review will focus on the differences between this pick and the standard “single barrel” release. Age difference immediately noticeable with BIG barrel char notes not as prevalent in the standard. More oak forward as well. Spicy finish but not as prickly as the norm, with the extra age taking off any lingering rough edges. Standard KC peanut and cherry flavors still dominate, but larger caramel presence as well. Finish is super long ending in peanut shell, cinnamon, and a hint of peppermint. Overall, a stunner. Too bad I am unlikely to ever find it again but if I did it would be an automatic buy at the $53 I paid.