We are tasting another wildly popular Jim Beam product, Knob Creek. In our humble opinion, this and Woodford Reserve helped push the current trend of crazy Bourbon sales. For a lot of people, us included, Knob Creek was one of the first so called craft bourbons they tasted. On a side note, it was named for a small creek that ran through Abraham Lincoln’s childhood home in Kentucky.
Knob Creek comes in a corked rectangular shaped bottle with a kind of unique label that we have a hard time describing. It is bottled at 100 proof and is aged 9 years. KC sells between $30 to $35 for the 750 ML bottle. The label states that it is made in limited small batches, and as we have pointed out with a few other bottles who say stuff like this, they must have a whole lot of small batches. You can find KC in almost any place that sells spirits.
As we said earlier, this was the Bourbon that got us both started really getting into Bourbon. It has been a while since either of us have tried it, will it evoke nostalgic memories, or remind us of why we haven’t drank it for so long.
NOSE
Todd: I was surprised at how much nose I got from this. At first it was the classic oak and caramel. Then I started getting tobacco and a little cinnamon and maybe even a little apple. The whole aroma also reminded me of sherry.
Ron: I agree, a lot going on here. I got the caramel and cinnamon that Todd got along with a spicy, woody taste with a little vanilla. Also got a very faint trace of pear.
TASTE
Todd: Way too hot for me neat, needed 2 cubes melted before I could really taste anything, and even then a little rough. Once the ice melted I got a nice sweet/spicy taste with a touch of vanilla. Not near as complex as the nose and strangely, I didn’t taste any of the things I got on the nose.
Ron: Knob Creek stands up to be noticed. Definitely needed ice to even remotely enjoy this drink. But unlike Todd, once it melted I got a lot of flavors. Oak, vanilla, praline and tobacco were the dominant ones. Under that I could detect cloves and a cough syrup/medicine taste.
Todd: You definitely got more than I did.
FINISH
Todd: Nice medium-long finish with hints of toffee and mint.
Ron: Medium-long with some more of the praline and tobacco that I got on the taste.
OVERALL
Todd: Real good nose and finish but I was not blown away with the taste, and when it comes down to it, that is my main reason to drink Bourbon.
Ron: This Bourbon refuses to be ignored. I had to have ice (melted) and there is a small window between too little water and too much. Not a go to Bourbon, but not one you run away from either.
Nose 4.5 out of 5
Taste 8 out of 10
Finish 4 out of 5
Total 16.5 out of 20 Barrels
So, did it bring back that nostalgia, or why we haven’t had it in a while?
This was a hard one, we went back and forth on trying to get a handle on it. It was better than we expected, but not overwhelmingly so. KC is a decent Bourbon, a little rough, though at 100 proof you should expect that, and a little on the high side regarding price. Also complicating things was the enormous appeal of Knob Creek. We kept asking why is this so popular? It is good in a Manhattan or Old Fashioned, but on the rocks? We would probably choose something else from the cabinet.
As to our question, I think our score speaks for itself.