Nose: Oak and char. Cherries, peanuts, bananas. Brown sugar. Rye spice in the form of cardamom, cinnamon, and dried basil, thyme, and a hint of oregano. Dusty corn sweetness. Leather. Honey ham. Vanilla bean ice cream. Ripe orange. Cork. The 100 proof is helping things jump out of the glass a little. Let it sit for a little while and you'll get peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches. Palate: Brown sugar, dusty corn, vanilla. Peaches and bananas. Clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. Oak - definitely some tannin showing up in taste and texture, with the slightest barrel bite. Whipped cream with added sugar. Bitter chocolate, leather. The slightest pot still mustiness coming through - Beam uses a column still to make their low wines and pot still for their high wines, which probably lends itself to this profile. The proof, though present, isn't challenging at all. The finish starts with a nice, fruity toasted grain character. I'm reminded of Cheerios with a spoon of sugar and sliced bananas. The banana sticks around while that vanilla bean ice cream comes back into play. The alcohol comes to the fore as a more prickly, "carbonated" characteristic. Tannins are also playing around still. Slowly everything fades away into a sparkly, strawberry mineral water vibe. Medium-long finish overall. After letting the glass open up a bit, peanut butter joins the party (as it did on the nose). Other notes: I've been slowly re-reviewing things recently, and this has really held up. Knob Creek is my daily drinker, and revisiting it like this cements exactly why - though it's flavor-forward and has some real robustness, it's also quite suited to just sipping. And the price-point I can find it at means I don't feel bad when I can't give it my fully undivided attention. One of my "cornerstones" of Bourbon (and American whiskeys in general), I highly recommend anybody pick up a bottle of this and give it a fair shake - it's well worth it.