KNOB CREEK SHOWDOWN Knob Creek NAS Small Batch Bourbon Knob Creek 9-Year Single Barrel Reserve Knob Creek 12-Year Small Batch Continuing to work through whiskies in my collection that I’ve yet to review. I have reviewed the 12-Year previously, but since I’d yet to review the NAS Small Batch and the 9-Year Single Barrel, I thought I’d group the three together for a side-by-side tasting. Knob Creek may be a little like the old Chevy Nova, which was spurned by Hispanic clientele because “no va” means “no go” in Spanish. I was at a bar in Manhattan a few years back with an English colleague and Knob Creek looked like a safe bet, so I ordered it. When he heard this he said “I would never order Knob Creek, mate.” While Knob Creek bourbon was named after the Knob Creek Farm in Kentucky, “Knob” in the U.K. means something else entirely. I have no idea what U.K. sales look like for this Jim Beam brand. Knob Creek NAS Small Batch Bourbon Color is a clear and bourbon-like caramel-colored Pantone 138. Nose shows sweet caramel, a little orange, and a healthy dose of oak and vanilla. The palate Knob Creek NAS Small Batch can be found for around $40. The 100-proof is not diluted to the bare minimum 80 proof, which is a good thing. But the $40 price tag is high relative to the market. I recently wrote a “BUDGET BOTTLED IN BOND BOURBON SHOWDOWN” review (September 24, 2023), and each of those three 100-proof, NAS bourbons (Evan Williams BiB, Old Tub, and Wild Turkey 101) can be had for nearly half the price. The Knob Creek NAS doesn’t differentiate itself enough from those to warrant a price nearly twice as high. There are no particular flaws; but it’s not a sipper, and while higher proof is good for cocktails, you can find far cheaper 100-proof bourbons that will perform just as well. Would I buy it again? No. 3.0 on the Distiller scale. 100 proof. NAS. Knob Creek 9-Year Single Barrel Reserve Virtually identical Pantone 138 color as the Knob Creek NAS. The nose is complex, and unsurprisingly outshines the NAS, with chocolate covered cherries, dried orange, Honey-Nut Cheerios, charred oak, vanilla, and noticeable but well-integrated alcohol, followed by a little cooling mint. The mouthfeel shows a very light creaminess and coats the tongue, and the palate shows dark caramelized sugar and bittersweet chocolate, which transitions to some light woody tannic bitterness, via the charred wood and vanilla on the finish. The 9-Year Single Barrel is a significant uptick from the NAS small batch, as one would expect. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s good, but not quite very good. This could definitely be a sipper for me, and it represents good value in today’s market with a retail price around $57. Would I but it again? Yes. 4.0 on the Distiller scale. 120 proof. 9-Year age statement. Knob Creek 12-Year Small Batch Even with the older age statement, the 12-Year is the same Pantone 138 hue as the NAS Small Batch and 9-Year. The nose is reticent; I’m not getting nearly as many notes as I did when I reviewed it over a year ago. There is a bit of toffee, nutmeg, and come cooling spearmint. The palate is an enormous improvement, with sweet banana bread, gobs of toasted oak and vanilla, and at last, the presence of the 100 proof lifting its head. Toasted oak and vanilla continue on the medium-length finish, which then shows some espresso-tinged bitterness, likely the result of woody tannins from the extra barrel age. I reviewed the Knob Creek 12-Year on its own back on June 22, 2022. I was a little disappointed then, as the 12-year age statement is rare in today’s market at a “reasonable price,” and I rated it at 3.25 on the Distiller scale. This tasting is marginally better than my previous assessment. The aromatics today were not the same for me as they were a year ago; perhaps this is because this tasting was preceded by the 9-year, which is deeper, richer, and more complex. I prefer the 9-year to the 12-year, which can be had for around $65. Would I buy it again? Yes. But it comes with a caveat: due to the age statement, the flavor profile could change year to year, and the 12-year age statement is enough to roll the dice. 3.5 on the Distiller scale. 100 proof. 12-year age statement. N.B. All spirts tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.