NEW BOTTLE HIGHLIGHT SERIES: Revisiting Knob Creek – Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon

Knob Creek’s 9 Year Bourbon and 7 Year Rye were two of the first non-single malt American whiskies that I tried two years ago and I didn’t like either of them due to the prominent nuttiness and punchy oak char. But about a month ago I took a shot on Knob Creek Blender’s Edition Batch 1 and really like it. That got me to think that, now that my bourbon palate has evolved a lot, it was time for me to revisit more “classic” Knob Creek flavor profiles, which is why I picked up this bottle a week ago.

Produced by Jim Beam, Knob Creek 12 Year is aged in level 4 char new American White Oak barrels and the distillate has a barrel entry of 125 proof. It’s a dark amber/dark copper color in the glass and is very viscous across the palate. On both the nose and the palate it’s classic Knob Creek/Bream with prominent nuttiness (toasted peanuts) and punchy oak. On the nose, these are joined by aromas of unsweetened dark chocolate, creamy caramel, dark vanilla, toffee (like a Heath Bar), lighter than expected baking spices (cinnamon & nutmeg), black pepper, dried tobacco, dried cherries, & a cinnamon-brown sugar mix. Flavors largely mirror the aromas and the dark sweet notes come more and more to the forefront the longer it aerates in the open glass. The finish is long and sips close with a mix of charred oak smokiness, black pepper and rye spice, unsweetened dark chocolate, and toffee.

Though Knob Creek 12 Year isn’t typically what I’m looking in terms of flavor profile when I pour a bourbon, I no longer dislike it and am glad that I picked this bottle up – I’ll continue enjoying it.