Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye

On the Nose: Deep sweet caramel Palate: Sweet, Butterscotch Finish: Minty rye, Spiced sweetness

Mission Wine and Spirits barrel pick; named the "Fifth Floor," because, I assume, the barrel was stored on the fifth floor. If I recall, that's sort of in the middle, but maybe that's wrong. Bottled at 115 proof, 57.5%. N: Caramel, vanilla, mint, menthol, dried herbs, green grain, cereal. P: Mid-level sweetness, earthy, herbal tea, caramel, vanilla, mint. F: More dried herbs, mint, oak, some caramel, some chili pepper heat. Solid single barrel. Not good enough to make me feel I needed to run out and grab another before they were gone, which is really what I hope for from a store pick, but that's pretty rare. But I wouldn't hesitate to grab another store pick single barrel rye. There's a nice roundness to this that most ryes don't quite have. I'd be up for trying another one. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

I've been sitting on this bottle a while. I bought one at the tail end of 2019. Then, that following June, I bought another and gave it to my dad on Father's Day. Not sure why, having not opened or tasted it, I decided it was the right choice, but my dad likes your standard 100 proof Knob Creek Rye, the price was going up $10 on the barrel select (I got mine and the Father's Day bottle for $50 and have since bought another at $60), so I figured why the hell not? And when my dad opened his, I tasted it and thought it was pretty damn fine, but I didn't necessarily need to rush to open mine at that point, since I prefer spreading my tasting of good bottles out. Yesterday, I have my dad and my brother-in-law over to watch the Eagles play the Colts, and even though our team ended up pulling it out in the end, I don't think it's too bold a statement to say that the whisky I served was far better than the game. In addition to serving the Laphroaig 10 Sherry Oak and Ardbeg Beastie, I served the Sagamore Spirits Single Barrel Rye as well as opening Paul John Cask Select, Johnnie Walker Green, and Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye. Now, I'll have reviews of the Paul John and Johnnie Walker coming up, and those are interesting when paired in that they have very similar fruity notes, but the Walker is much better balanced than the Paul John (both were very good). But it was also a revelation tasting the Knob Rye Single Barrel after the Sagamore Single Barrel. Now, I'm giving this the same rating as the Sagamore because I think both are amazing. And being ryes both, they have similar notes. But the Knob is the subtler of the two. The Sagamore is your full orchestra and the Knob is a string quartet. The Sagamore is in your face and brash, Johnny Cash giving you that middle finger, and the Knob is an unplugged set by Neil Young, sitting along on stage with an acoustic guitar. The nose on the Knob has a graceful sweetness, a sort of maple toffee clove aroma with a slight hint of mint in the background. On the palate, you get spicy rye and vanilla with that slight edge of mint carrying through and a little bit of the earl gray tea taste on the back end. The finish is long and rich, but overall leaves me with the impression of elegance. While that Sagamore was brash, this Knob is refined. There's a place for both obviously, and giving them the same score, I can't pick one over the other. They're both well worth your while. The only question is, does the quality hold over the years? We'll have to wait and see, since I'm in no rush to open the 2022 bottling I bought. This was put in the barrel 10/8/2013 and bottled 3/27/2019, Warehouse W-K, Floor F-02, Rick R-08. Genuinely pleasing and will probably be gone far too quickly. This is a must try for all lovers of rye.

Warehouse: L Floor: 5 Rick: 025 Barrel date: 9-14-2016 Pick date: 10-26-21 115 proof This stuff is freaking amazing. -Nose: it evolves as it sits with a little water. It starts out with some mint, grass, cherry, and oak and after it sits for ten minutes turns completely into maple syrup. Mouthwatering. -Palate: something green and vegetal like fresh cut grass; lemon rind; cherry; dark sweets like dark brown sugar -Finish: menthol; oak; cherry cough syrup Complex. Good.