When I think Knob Creek, I think bourbon. But Beam puts out their fair share of ryes under the KC label. This particular one is the old school black label, which is the way it looked the first time I tried it. Let's check it out. Nose: Rye bread. Black pepper, nutmeg, and clove. Vanilla and caramel. Orange peel and ginger. A peppermint note. Dried cranberry. Black tea leaves. Black licorice. Light on the dill, if there's any at all. Oak. Palate: Granny smith apple. Vanilla and caramel. Big on the spices: black pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Orange peel and cocoa. Pistachio. Oak. Finish: Dill, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, white pepper, and oak. Flashes and vanilla and green apple. The spices lingers to make this a long finish. Solid rye. I don't know that I've found a distillery (or a brand in this case) that offers similarly matched bourbons and ryes. In this case, I prefer the bourbon. But that's no knock on this one because I love the Knob Creek NAS bourbon. This is a unique rye. Considering the mash bill is 51% rye, I'm not too surprised. This one floats between rye and bourbon, obviously leaning toward the former. It's unique for a rye, as well as Jim Beam products in general. Solid stuff, and at $31, it's a fantastic value.