As most of you probably know, Jim Beam lets people do private selections of Knob Creek barrels. A group of bourbon lovers here in Houston periodically do barrel picks, which a few local liquor stores then sell. This month, they did a barrel of Knob Creek and a barrel of Knob Creek rye. I’m not much of a Knob Creek fan generally, but I heard great things about this barrel, so figured it was worth a try. This particular barrel is #6709, from Jim Beam’s Warehouse E, Floor 4, Rack 18, Tier 3, and was barreled on 3/5/08 and selected on 4/9/18. Age: 9 years Mashbill: Jim Beam Standard (75% corn; 13% rye; 12% barley) Abv: 60% Price: $42.99 at Rice Fine Wines and Liquor Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with two fat basset hounds next to me. Nose: Heavy Nutter Butters, with some accompanying oak and brown sugar. Potent and delicious, this is one of the best noses I’ve ever sampled. (24/25 points) Taste: Peanuts, peanut butter, oak, rye. Goes down surprisingly easily for how potent this stuff is, although it does pack some heat. Tastes pretty great. (47/50 points) Finish: Everlasting. (23/25) points) Conclusion: This is a fantastic whiskey – easily one of the best that I have ever had. I suspect this would have made a good Booker’s if it hadn’t been selected by the Bourbon Hounds. It has the traditional Jim Beam peanut funk, but dialed up to 11, and in an extra tasty fashion. It’s only real fault is that it is a little one-dimensional, but when the flavor is this good, I don’t view that as much of a fault. All that being said, you have to like peanuts, and if you don’t, this probably isn’t great. I’m a big fan of Nutter Butters, so I’m a little biased towards this flavor profile. I liked this so much, especially for the price, that I ended up going back the next day to grab another bottle, as well as a bottle of the rye. I’m pretty curious to try some Booker’s (which I’ve never had) and see how it compares. 94/100