r/bourbon is doing a community review of Knob Creek this month so I figured why not get in on that and use it as a jumping off point for a review series on Knob Creek. The Knob Creek Small Batch is what I used to think of fancy bourbon back in my early drinking days so it’s a bit funny that I see it as on the lower end now. I’ve always liked it and can’t distinctly remember the old 9 year aged stated versions being better. I picked up a pint of this with the shiny new label for the community review and I’m super primed on 100 proof whiskey after my bottled in bond series so let’s see how this guy stacks up.
Knob Creek Small Batch
Age: NAS
Abv: 100 proof
Color: A medium gold
Price: $15 for a 375ml
Neat
Nose: Sweet with nutty notes, caramel and oak
Taste: The nutty note from the nose is more clearly peanut with more oak and caramel and some rye spice notes. Good mouthfeel which is expected at this proof.
Finish: Medium to long finish with rye spice, oak and a bit of caramel.
On a rock
Nose: Faint nutty sweetness
Taste: The ice quenches almost all the up front flavor though caramel and a bit of oak do surface later.
Finish: Short to medium finish with sweet caramel and peanut notes.
1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies
Conclusion
It’s good whiskey, it’s fairly priced and finish was more interesting than I expected. Other than the finish and Beam nutty note it doesn’t really stand out at all though. If I’m going Beam these days I’d rather spring for the Knob Creek Single Barrel which is rapidly making most other Beam juice redundant for me.
That said this is great step up from super budget drinkers like Evan Williams BiB or Early Times BiB. I’d even spend the extra $4 for this over Wild Turkey 101 if I want to drink it neat but sweet and nutty bourbons are my jam. That said I thought a 100 proofer would do better on the rocks than this does.
TL;DR: Good stuff, nothing special but hard to beat on the shelf at its price point, doesn’t hold up as well to ice.