Whiskey_Hound
Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon W-X F-04 R-046 (Chris Knapp)
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
September 22, 2020 (edited February 15, 2023)
Within the last year, Jim Beam pumped out a number of Single Barrel, 120 Knob Creek releases. They decided to up some of these from their standard 9 year SB, with bottlings ranging from 12-15. I'm excited to try one.
See @PBMichiganWolverine's review of this one for all the vital stats. He was kind enough to share a pour from his bottle. I'll mention that this is 15 years, which makes this the oldest bourbon I've tried to date.
Nose: Hits as heavy as any Booker's I've had, despite having a slightly lower ABV. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oak. It's a spice bomb. There's some fresh-baked apple pie and brown sugar. Caramel, vanilla, and more oak. A healthy dose of sawdust as well. Great nose.
Palate: Caramel, vanilla, cocoa, and maple sweetness. More of the spice notes: clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper. And heaps of oak.
Finish: All of the above. Oak, assorted baking spices, and a carryover of the sweet notes from the palate.
Man, I'd really like to get my hands on a full bottle of this stuff. There are still some of these older single barrel KCs floating around out there. I'll try my luck with one.
If you like the standard 9-year KC SB, or Booker's in general, then you will enjoy this one. It's an absolute beast of a whiskey, so if you can't handle the heat then stay clear of this one.
Thanks for the pour @PBMichiganWolverine, I highly recommend this one.
50.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@PBMichiganWolverine No worries! I’ll keep my eyes open for it. Sounds like a real gem
@Whiskey_Hound I should’ve sent one over —-I sent my last pour to @Scott_E . Hopefully they’ll make that widely available. It was a distillery only for now
@PBMichiganWolverine No you didn’t. That sounds amazing though! Bummer we can’t get it here in Jersey
@Milliardo I actually heard the same thing —that the 14-15 yr old store picks were better than the 2001 and 25th, at 1/3 of the price
@Whiskey_Hound @PBMichiganWolverine reason I was asking: I enjoyed both 25th and 2001, but when I tried an arbitrary 14 year store pick, it blew the others out of the water at 1/3 the price. Was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience, and this one sounds like a contender for sure
@Whiskey_Hound did I send you that tequila matured version of Balcones ? That was really good, and impossible to get except at the distillery
@Ctrexman Man, I really need to get into Balcones sooner than later. I’ve heard so many good things. @Milliardo Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to try either. Only the 9 year SB and the 12 year
@WhiskeyLonghorn i was really surprised to see this at $50, and at that strength. You’re right...they’re probably producing a lot to be able to put this out at that price
@Whiskey_Hound i think they still have this at Berkeley Wine over in Basking Ridge, for $50. At least when I checked last ( I’ve not been there in about 6 weeks, and I’ve not had a pour in about 5 weeks ). Glad you liked this one.
@Milliardo i have both—the 2001 and 25th ( I think...need to check my spreadsheet ). I’ve heard both were pretty good.
@CKarmios it’s difficult to find those here too. I think bourbon finds its sweet spot between 8-10 years old, maybe up to 12, but beyond that the angels share is huge and the risk of becoming over oaked is super high. Ultra-aged bourbons tend to be expensive because it’s essentially like 21+ year old scotch. A release like this one from Beam is possible at such a price for such a high age I suspect because they’re a huge producer and have plenty of well aged stock. Most aren’t so fortunate. Look at what’s happening at Buffalo Trace.
Four Roses Single Barrel made me realise the depth and nuance of flavour that can be found in bourbons and from what I've read it is only aged between 7-9 years. I've often wondered what spending nearly double that time in virgin oak barrels would do to a bourbon; difficult to find such bottlings on this side of the pond.
Have you had the 25th or the 2001? Curious how this may rank against those to you
Yeah I hear you but Ive been working a 130+proof bottle of Balcones Peated that is so flavor dense I have a hard time resetting to the lower proof mindset
@Ctrexman I think it's worth acknowledging that Booker's fan boys like you and I who enjoy Booker's neat are not the norm. Some might even call it borderline psychotic. For those people, I give a fair warning with this one. Lol
Heat....what heat...bring it on lol