Knob Creek 15 Year Bourbon (2021 Release)

N: Big hit of vanilla with cinnamon and oak spice. Cinnamon dusted roasted peaches. Some dried red fruit, not much. Some earth and leather funk. A dusty library type smell. More red fruit as it opens. P: Red fruit, peaches, and pear with lots of toasted cinnamon and oak. Baking spice, vanilla, toffee. Coffee berry - or at least what I imagine that tastes like, something like a cross of coffee and cherry, but with the cherry toned down and leaning more toward generic berry notes. Drawing air across it releases even more red fruit, now with a cooked/roasted nature to it. Finish brings lots of oak bitterness, a medicine aftertaste note, more coffee, splash of dark chocolate, baking spice, some cinnamon, and some of that leather and dusty book from the nose. But really, finish is mostly just bitter. I saw this on a shelf in late October and initially decided to pass while also thinking I wasn't likely to see it again soon - just seemed too pricey at the time. Then I thought, maybe it'll be a nice pour for Thanksgiving - a corn based whiskey seemed right for the holiday (even though I knew most of my guests pretty much exclusively drink fruit-forward single malt scotch) and sharing it for the holiday felt like justification for the cost. Knowing KC, I decided to crack this a week before Thanksgiving to let it have at least a little room to breath before the holiday. That first pour was like a warning - this isn't a beginner's whiskey: it's bitter, it's dusty, it's not bright, it's not easy. I should have known better, but just told myself that was why I opened it early and a week with oxygen will help. Needless to say, the week did not help and this was not a hit on Thanksgiving. I recall half finished pours after the family left - obviously I combined them and finished it myself, so not a total loss, I suppose, although I may have accidentally turned off some of the family to bourbon. I have work to do to bring them back around. (And forget about the Lag 16 I thought would go great with dessert...) Now we're a few months out and I still find this whiskey difficult. It is mature, big, and assertive. It is quite bitter, which I don't hate, but it puts it in a bit of a niche. A cube or some water might open it up, but I hesitate to do that with a 15 year old - feels like it shouldn't be necessary, especially at only 100 proof. Maybe that's not the right way to think about it. I'm really not sure. I have a pour or two left, so maybe I can still experiment. As a side note, I thought this would disappear from shelves fast. I was wrong. Still around and now $40 cheaper, so I have to guess I'm not the only one who doesn't love it at it's price point. Difficult nature and all, this would be an interesting bottle at $60-70, but even at $110 it feels too steep. I got robbed at what I paid, but I guess that happens sometimes the deeper down this rabbit hole you go. _______ A bunch of regular Distiller reviewers are chatting spirits in real time on Discord. Please join: https://discord.gg/crpksjtkMu. (If the link is expired, post a comment and I can get a new one.)

This is an outstanding bourbon. You do get some peanut, but it’s so much more refined than normal Beam product. I really get some nice vanilla notes and the deep color off this is really translates into some soft oak and cherry notes. I have seem and read people say KC 12 year exceeds 15 year and I wonder if they have truly done a blind with them. Don’t get me wrong .. 12 year at $60 is a damn good bourbon. $5 a year… sign me up. It’s really good. More vanilla, but a tad thinner than the 15. In a true blind, the 15 offers a richer bourbon and one that I think is worth the extra $30. It’s more viscous, more complex, less peanut taste. You really cannot go wrong with either, however KC15 really is among the better higher end bourbon values on the shelf that people do not chase. Less than $6 a year … it’s well worth the $90 price. But you should own both 12 and 15. Among the best values on the shelf.

Nose: oak and leather dominate. Beam nuttiness. Pretzel, oversalted caramel. Feint licorice Palate: age smooths out any harsh or spiciness. Beam nuttiness is feint. Oak, oak and more oak. Finish: oak and very tannic. Lingering and leave your mouth very dry. Powerful but the 100 proof keeps it from beint overwhelming. Dark chocolate and pretzel note appears. One dimensional in its oak profile but it never overwhelms. It does one thing and does it whelm. 12 year is more balanced and give you more traditional bourbon flavors but this does a great job of differentiating itself. Fine at 100 proof, 10-15 more proof points would have done this wonders. 7 on the t8ke scale

Slightly thin but makes it up in a depth of flavors; vanilla, coconut, caramelized banana, oak spices of clove, allspice, and cinnamon. Medium-long length. Satisfying bourbon with an impressive age statement, but if you're looking bottles that are more impressive or similar in age or flavor, but lower or similar in price, look for bottles like Russells reserve 10yr or SiB, 4R SiB/SmBatch Select/or Barrel strength, or EC Barrel Strength. And also, I think it tastes a little over-oaked/aged. A little too tannic

As usual, go months without rating, but get at least two in when the time comes around. Dusty nose...has an aged feel...loads of oak and vanilla, and a hint of sweet raisin. There is a ton of wood on the nose...queue the jokes...but this is a completely different pour than the 12 year that I'm accustomed to. Flavor is oak forward...a general dryness, with notes of clove, dark chocolate, and vanilla on the edges. Easy sipper for the age, I didn't love this at first sip, but I have warmed to it over time

First thing on the nose is ethanol, but peeling that back there's caramel, butterscotch, and vanilla. On the palate she's thicc. It drinks like an older bourbon, and it's quite decadent. Vanilla seems to coat the tongue, as it does the flavors begin to open up and you start tasting that oak from the extended stay in the barrel and a bit of citrus and spiciness. It finishes strong with building spice that goes on for several minutes. Damn fine juice from Jim Beam!