Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Single Barrel Reserve

Nose - (w/o water) Dark oaky brown simple, vanilla cream/pudding, leather, coffee Werther's (w/ water) Adds a tiny bit of roasted peanut shell note Taste - (w/o water) Hot cinnamon heat on the tongue, very oaky vanilla brown simple, leather, sweet tobacco, hint of cherry coke syrup, very light roasted peanut nutty sweetness on the backend (w/ water) Cinnamon heat greatly reduced, more pronounced oaky cherry vanilla coke syrup, more creamy peanut butter sweet. Finish - (w./o water) Oaky roasted sweet nutty peanut butter dominates, lingering cinnamon heat, very faint luxardo cherry sweet (w/ water) Lingering sweet oaky cherry hinted nutty peanut butter dominates with a faint hint of cinnamon heat. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This one definitely needs a bit of air time in the glass to really open up and I assume some oxidation time in the bottle will help as well. Initially the nose seemed very one dimensional, but letting it sit a while definitely helped. It's been a while since I've had any Knob Creek offerings so I don't have the best baseline, but this didn't initially scream "traditional Beam" to me until it had time to air a bit. If I had to summarize this up, it would be a traditional barrel proof Beam offering that hides itself until its had some time to air out or had a splash of water. It's tasty for sure, but this pour doesn't really distinguish itself from Booker's very much and borders on being over-oaked.

Neat. Opened for a year or more. I loved this on my first taste but since then I have found a steady stream of 13-15 year store picks. I wondered how this stood up to time. And the nose is fantastic. Gosh. Classic nuttiness surrounded by ripe and gushing cherries. Deep deep oak and leather. A gray burnt caramel. French vanilla. I could spend a long time with this because it has a nose that plays all these beautiful notes. Goes between light bright notes to deep dark notes and everything in between. And of it is so rich and crisp. I don’t have a side by side but this does strike me as a level beyond the store pick barrels. I was honestly going into this thinking it was over priced in retrospect... maybe not? Super syrupy and thick. Brown sugar and oak on the tongue, so dark. Then uppercuts you with the cherry and vanilla. Leaves you with the burnt caramel, oak and a hint of the nuttiness. Drinks like 100 proof. The finish goes on and on and on. Yeah, this truly is a definitive Knob Creek experience. I recently finished my Knob Creek 2001 Batch 1 and that one lost its luster a bit as time went on. This one is special. $120 is a lot for a Knob Creek single barrel but I think a bottle of this is worth two store picks. It’s a step beyond them off memory.

I was surprised to find some of this on a shelf in Louisiana, almost 3 years after release. This particular barrel was 13 years old, barreled on 2/26/2004 and bottled at 121.9 proof. Nose - Cherries, apples, vanilla, oak, tobacco. Baking spices and leather. A very faint nutty note. Some dried varnish, but I wouldn't call the nose hot. Palate - Brown sugar, sweet oak, dark chocolate. The Beam peanut note is there but it's very restrained. The fruit from the nose never really showed up on the palate. Sweetness lingers on the long finish, along with oak, cinnamon and baking spices. A few drops of water killed the fruit notes on the nose, which was disappointing. It also amplified the sweetness and baking spices on the palate. But that nose was my favorite part so I prefer without the water. What's interesting to me is just how different this is from other KC releases I've tried, especially the fruit on the nose was a really pleasant surprise.

Taste: Neat in glen cairn glass, 1.5 oz. Barreled on 2/21/2004 @ 121 proof. Nose (4.5): Some initial dill and then vanilla and cherry. Nose is easy to discern, and for proof does not overpower with ethanol. Palate (4.25): Vanilla prevails with spice but not cinnamon, almost more like allspice. There is some peppery notes and oak. Finish (4.0): Finish is dry and hot. A few drops of water went a long way to improve finish and take off the edge. It is a nice long finish with more oak then what was on the palate. Overall: I like this offering a lot, but I didn't love it as much as my 120 proof binny's store pick. I bought this on what I regard as a steal at $95 given the $129.00 msrp. By comparison I would prefer 2 bottles of the store pick or a solid 2015 series Booker's. My biggest complaint is that I wanted a tad more sweetness. It is a good pour.

Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel 61% ABV Barreled date: 5/13/2004 13 years old 300 barrels produced Nose: butterscotch, dark fruits, baked goods Taste: right off the bat a big purple grape flavor which I’ve never picked out of a bourbon before. Loving how this one feels. Other sweet fruits, oak, and cinnamon accompany the grape burst. Finish: big Kentucky hug, but the actual flavors from the palate don’t stick around very long. Much shorter than expected for a 13 year old bourbon. Overall: definitely a unique Knob Creek offering, but I’ve had better KC SiB store picks that have also been aged longer and have a much longer finish. Worth the $130 price tag? Nope, find a trusted store and grab one of their KC picks instead

Neat. Bottle I have is 13 years old. The color is a gorgeous dark amber. Lots of layers on the nose. Heavy vanilla and spice. Spice isn’t a cinnamon, more like an all spice. Lots of floral notes. It’s really really good. It’s a nice light mouth feel. Char sugars initially but on the swallow it transitions to a symphony of dark and high flavor notes. Starts as a chocolate, then comes the spice, then the vanilla bomb. Those flavors will last in the mouth for as long as they are allowed. This is some amazing stuff.